Race Against The Clock: Detective Rivals
by Lady Mew 123
Summary: A Case Closed spin off staring the detective Lyndsey Laru, the number one American detective, and her unraveling relationship with Conan Edogawa as they encounter and solve cases while seeking an organization which holds the secrets to their cure.
1. The Case of the Black Organization

The sun had begun to rise over the northern mountains Japan as a multi national plane began to descend in the Tokyo airport a short while after seven a.m. in the morning. Aboard the plane were a hundred tourists and businessmen from America for the summer months of March to August. Turbulence has been ordinary as the plane began to decline in speed along the airport runway near the central tower where anxious and irritated businessmen awaited the two and a half hour late plane. Slowly coming to a complete stop, it took a moment for the plane door to open while the loading escalator was moved into position. However, when the door did open, a young man in his mid-teens grinned as his eyes adapted to the morning sunlight.

Wasting zero time, he leapt over the railway and slid down to the ground in front of an airfield of workers who stared at him with an expression of disbelief. Shyly slipping a hand behind his neck he grinned while he thought of an excuse and glanced at his watch in annoyance. "Arg, five hours on a plane and you expect me to waste more time?" he grinned as he began to run off into the airport waving a hand behind him, "See you guys later, I've got a date with a detective named Kudo!" he called behind him as he disappeared into the entrance door and began dashing through the crowded airport. Sliding down one of the escalators down to the main floor the young man caught a familiar sight and spun around a pillar in the opposite direction.

Skidding to a stop in front of a news stand the young man smiled as he scooped a paper up into his hand and reached into his pocket for the required change. Using his free hand to flip through the pages with a finger until he paused on what he was after, an image of Jimmy Kudo and an article wondering where the legendary detective has gone. "Looks like America's number one detective, Lawrence Laru has himself a lost person case… And then I can finally prove once and for all who the best detective in the world is…!" he smirked while folding the newspaper up and placing it in the left pocket of his sweater. Slipping two of his fingers under his chin he began to think of where to begin searching and slapped his forehead when he pulled the paper out of his pocket and flipped to the image of the last person to see Kudo, Rachel More.

Turning back to the newspaper salesman he held up the page with Rachel's picture and pointed to it while he produced an American ten dollar bill. "Do you know where this woman lives? It's kind of important…" he bluffed as he handed the newspaper to the clerk hoping for a positive answer. The clerk examined the picture for a short moment while rubbing his chin, "Oh sure this is Richard More's daughter… They live downtown in their detective agency, the address should be in a phone book…" the elderly man replied a second later before snatching the bill into his hand and pulling a phone book out from under the desk he had been sitting behind. "Let's see…" the clerk said while he flipped through the pages until he found the address for the More Detective Agency and flipped the book around for Lawrence to note the address.

Removing a notepad and pen from his back pocket, Lawrence rapidly took down the phone number and address before placing both back in his pocket while politely bowing to the clerk. "Thank you sir…!" he said as he took off down the plaza hopping over an approaching cart of luggage while he made his way outside the main airport doors. Raising a hand to signal a cab he frowned when they all continued driving right past him for nearly a minute or two. "Duh… Its Japan not New York…" he said feeling a bit stupid when he slipped his hands in his pockets and realized he only had American currency for the time being. A fact he intended to remedy after catching his next clue to the missing superstar detective Jimmy Kudo from his childhood friend Rachel More. In America he was an ordinary high school student age seventeen, but now that school was out for the summer he intended to prove to who was the number one detective.

Fiddling around in his pocket for a map of Tokyo he had purchased while in America he produced it a short moment later and traced his location at the airport to the down town agency. Sighing quietly after figuring the walk would take at least five hours he slipped both of his hands back in his pockets and began to glance around until he spotted a shuttle bus. Rushing over he managed to slip into the doors right before they began to close and was greeted with a larger woman sitting at the driver's seat. "I'll trade you an American five for fare?" he said sheepishly sulking his shoulders with an innocent expression which caused the lady to merely scowl at him before pointing a finger out as she re-opened the doors. A sound of change clinking together caused both to turn to the fare box as an older man with a small straight grayish white mustache in a lab coat dropping a second fare into the box with a smile directed at both Lawrence and the driver.

"Now now… There is not need to make the young lad wait for the next bus, fairs all paid so how about you take a seat young…?" the elderly man offered and was greeted by a silent nod of approval from the driver before she closed the doors and began to drive away from the airport. "Lawrence… My name is Lawrence, and you are…?" the young detective replied calmly and bowed out of respect as he followed the elder man to an empty seat where he took the window side. "Professor Agasa is my name; you certainly did not come to Japan very prepared if all you have is American currency… I'd suggest stopping by a bank first thing…" he said playing with his mustache slightly like his observation was a profound revelation. Lawrence only managed a smirk and nodded his head in response until he remembered reading about Agasa in America.

Recalling the news article he smiled faintly, "Actually I've come searching for a detective named Jimmy Kudo, I heard he's your next door neighbor so you have any idea where he might be hiding…?" he asked curiously, rapidly eyeing an air of mistrust rise on the professor's face as he studied Lawrence. "Why are you searching for Jimmy?" Agasa asked calmly while he tried to recall the name Laru since it sounded all too familiar from something Conan had been talking about a lot lately. "Wait, you would not happen to be that famous detective from America?" Agasa asked with a faint pause while he folded his arms and studied the young man further not thinking anything was too untrustworthy beyond traveling halfway around the world to find Jimmy Kudo when he could have sent a letter for Conan to answer personally; odd indeed.

"Let's say I'm out to prove once and for all who the best detective in the world is… Heard he was quite a Holmes, although so was that kid from Britain I showed up last year…" he replied casually while placing both of his hands in his pockets and began to observe the scenery outside the window. The faint glimmer off a metal object, in one of the secluded alleyways, caught his attention in an instant as he pressed his face up against the glass to observe three figures in a fight. "Crap! I've got to run, I'll talk to you later!" he said as he stood up and grabbed one of the metal poles above his head to swing over the seat as the bus came to a stop a half block away from the scene. Opening the door he bolted off the bus in the direction of the alley leaving Professor Agasa staring at him with an odd look until he dismissed it as young love or something.

Running down the sidewalk, he slipped down an alley near the one he had seen the scene and headed at the far wall. Leaping at the wall with a kick, he used the pressure to send him up at an angel to the side wall and only a few inches below the rim of the low hanging store roof. Scrambling up the side, he ran over the tiled roof with surprising dexterity and paused at the tip allowing him to stare down into the opposing alley where two figures in black trench coats were looming over a man in his early twenties with a stab wound in his chest and a brief case laying at his side. "Idiot should have known to double-cross us… He got what he had coming, and we got what we have coming…" one of the men in black boasted while clicking open the briefcase to reveal row upon row of freshly minted bills easily over a million in American currency.

The man holding the knife casually whipping the blood stains off and in the process caught the reflection of a young man watching them from the roof top to the left. Eyeing his partner for a brief moment he made a motion with his hand eyes upward, causing the other man to stare up at the roof as Lawrence ducked back to avoid being spotted. "And that is my cue to contact the police…" he said quietly as he began crawling down the side of the roof he had come up and slipped down into the empty alley way. Starting to run out of the alley he was cut off by one of the men blocking off the exit with a small black gun held in his hand. His free hand gestured to his partner blocking the other alley to prevent any escape. "Tisk tisk now you have gone and seen too much kid, up against the wall…" the one holding the gun ordered casually as his partner arrived behind him and they began to advance upon Lawrence forcing him into the stone wall at the back.

"Hold him still…" the man holding the gun whispered quietly to his partner who began to advance upon the young detective who still had his hands in the air. "I would not try and resist kid, unless you want to learn how it feels to have hot metal rushing into your heart at a hundred miles per hour…" the one holding the gun commented coyly while he clicked the bullet into the shaft and aimed it towards Lawrence's chest with an emotionless expression. His partner, walked up to Lawrence and without warning delivering a hard uppercut to the teenage boy's stomach sending him to the ground in pain. "You should have kept your nose out of our business shrimp…" the man looming over Lawrence said dryly as he kicked Lawrence in the side sharply causing the young detective to cough up a faint trace of blood and hold his side in pain. The man with the gun reaching into his pocket and tossing a thin metal case to his partner who caught it with one hand and flipped it open while he used his other hand to put Lawrence to the ground forcefully.

Selecting a small red capsule from the container he sealed the case and tossed it back to his partner who had the gun fixed on Lawrence to prevent any heroic attempt for freedom. Sliding the thin pill into the young detective's mouth he used his hand to prevent Lawrence from spitting it out despite his squirming resistance to the foreign drug. "Relax kid, it will all be over soon…" the man holding the gun said as he kicked the teenager in the side hard enough for him to instinctively swallow. Grasping at his throat a half second later he struggled against the older man's hand without any success as an intense burning began to cover his entire body. His eye's dilated in pain as the drug spread throughout his body, attacking cells and genetic material to the point of sending his body into chronic shock or shutdown.

Lawrence was surprised when the older man released his hold on him and tossed a half-bloodied knife by his hands in an effort to frame the teenager for the murder in the other alley a few feet away. Wincing with blinding pain while he watched the two men begin running out of the alley, leaving him for dead while he writhed along the ground in unimaginable pain. "I-I'm dying…" he managed to say weakly, praying that somebody, anybody would see his suffering and come to his aid. The melting sensations across his skin causing him to cry weakly out in pain as his vision began to cloud over and grow dark. A few seconds passed before Lawrence passed out from pain, the chemicals within the capsule spread throughout his entire body destroying cells as his body tried to combat the foreign toxin invading every cell in his body.

The physical changes were slow at first, although gradually his cellular structure began to condense in an effort to combat the diminishing cells as the last remnants of the toxin destroyed themselves against other cells in his body without a trace. His physical structure slowly began decreasing in size until less than three feet tall amidst the piles of adult sized clothing. Long strands of vibrant hazel brown hair hanging over the child's face which had softer features than one might have expected. The last of the toxin disintegrating an hour later as the afternoon sun rose to its peak, casting shadows over the isolated alley. It took nearly seven hours afterword for Lawrence to gradually come to and blankly stare around the alley until eying a young woman kneeling off to the side with a rather concerned look on her face while she produced a cell phone.

"W-Where am I…?" Lawrence asked weakly, wincing in pain from the slightest movement. Although, the expression of pain rapidly turned into disbelief upon observing the pile of clothes acting like a blanket and nearly three times larger than normal. Cautiously eyeing the surroundings, the child's face turned pale in alarm as both eyes traced the outline of their new body in surprise. "I-I'm a girl…?" Lawrence asked with concern while raising both hands up to see and blinked at their size before cupping her cheeks to gain an idea of the physical facial features. Her mind racing for an explanation, the last thing she could remember was being given that odd pill and blacking out when her body had begun to burn intensely. Although, by the position of the sun setting over the buildings in the east, the time could not have been after seven the same day which means she had only been out cold for eight hours at the maximum.

The young woman stared at Lawrence with an expression of confusion while she flipped open her cell phone and brushed a hand over the child's forehead to see whether she had a fever. "Of course you are a girl sweetheart… What else would you be…?" she asked with a faint pause dismissing the comment as deliria based on her assumption the child was homeless and had collapsed for whatever reason. "My name is Sonoko… Sonoko Suziki, how about we get you something to wear and then I'll take you out for dinner and you can tell me where you came from, how does that sound…?" she asked softly and offered a hand to help Lawrence stand up while Sonoko estimated by the child's size she was around seven years old. Using her free hand to send one of her friends a text message asking her to meet at the clothing store downtown; after all she had zero clue how to handle a child and was not going to leave a little girl in an alleyway.

Blinking in alarm, Lawrence stared down at the formerly well fitting t-shirt which now had sleeves down to her wrists and covered past her knees in length with her standing. A faint growling in her stomach causing her to blush faintly while she stared up at Sonoko and down at the pile of larger clothes. "A-Alright…" she replied with a faint pause before getting an idea and dug through the massive pocket of the hoodie on the ground until she found the newspaper and map from earlier. "Do you know where I can find this person?" she asked producing the picture of Rachel More while using the distraction, and beneath the raised paper, to accurately use her finger nail to cut a hole on the map where they were located given how far she had been able to get into the city on the bus before spotting those the events in the other alley. The sounds of sirens a half block down alerting her to the fact that the dead body had been found, and she knew she had to get out of her fast or might have to try explaining why she was here when she knew it would sound childish.

Sonoko examined the picture for only a half second before ruffling Lawrence's long hair with one hand and smiled. "I'd have to be pretty dumb not to know where to find my best friend; in fact she and Conan should be meeting us at the clothing store. Oh Conan is a relative of Jimmy Kodo and is staying with her; actually he is around your age I think so you two should get along great!" she beamed happily and brushed a hand under her chin while she examined the child for a short moment and sighed. "Although, first let's get you something more proper to wear, then we can all go out for dinner together… Sound okay…?" she asked while placing her cell phone back in her purse after receiving a confirmation text message from Rachel saying they would be at the shopping center in about an hour which provided enough time to find this odd girl something nice to wear for dinner. She decided in her head to make Lawrence her new special project.

Listening keenly, Lawrence widened her eyes in surprise when Sonoko mentioned a relative of Kodo and his girlfriend both coming to one convenient place. She knew she had to find those men to find a way to return to normal, although, on the other hand she needed time to track down their identities and hanging around the best friend of a detective's daughter would prove quite beneficial. "Thank you… Thank you very much miss Sonoko-san!" she began, remembering she probably looked a lot like a child based simply on the height difference between herself and Sonoko and knew better then to give away too many clues of her true identity until she was certain what exactly she was dealing with regarding those two men wearing black suits who had administered the drug. "I mean… I would love to come, thank you very much… My name is La… Lyndsey… Lyndsey Laru…" she replied quietly, catching herself at the last minute and saying the girl name that came to mind which matched her last name to avoid any other suspicions.

Lightly folding the newspaper downward, and over the map, she made another fold sideways to hide the map entirely from view before offering it up to Sonoko innocently. "Could you hold this for me…? It's really important…" she said softly, trying to look as innocent as possible which was not hard given her rather adorable physical appearance and features. The drug, an experimental version of the APTX 4869 drug, designed to isolate DNA cellular structures and explode upon all matching cellular structures which would cause enough damage to the central nervous systems to force the body to enter a state of shock and shutdown ultimately ending in death without any detectable traces. However, the cells which the drug had initially come into contact with was a Y Chromosome, and the drug had replicated and spread throughout Lawrence's entire body eliminating all traces of the cell without any physical hazards beyond the obvious physical changes which resulted and had collapsed her body structure to cope with the cellular shock.

Smiling at the child, Sonoko nodded and accepted the newspaper before placing it carefully inside of her purse which she draped over her shoulder and offered a hand down to 'Lyndsey' to begin walking down to the shopping center which was only two blocks away from the alley off center street. "You have a really lovely name Lyndsey, and I think I know just the right color for your new outfit!" she gushed adoringly while they began to walk causing Lyndsey to simply blush deeply from embarrassment. The twin tower structures of the city gradually coming into full view above the shop roofs, including a large twenty, or maybe higher, story building which Sonoko identified as the Tokyo Metropolitan Shopping Center. The sun setting in the east, bathing the sky in a radiate series of red and orange hues which Lyndsey had to admit did look quite beautiful while her mind wandered from one question to another, the first obvious question being how she was going to start tracking down those two men or use this Rachel and Conan in her efforts to locate the renowned Jimmy Kudo who she was still positive she could beat even as a child.

The two girls arrived at the shopping center after a short ten minute walk, which had felt significantly longer for poor Lyndsey who was still adapting to the shorter legs and other physical changes. Double revolving doors appearing monstrous from Lyndsey's diminulative perspective, she cringed a bit and instinctively tightened her grasp on Sonoko's hand. Sonoko stared down in surprise when she felt the increase in pressure and sighed quietly while they stepped into the revolving doors and emerged on the other side without any problems. "See that was not so bad was it sweety?" she asked softly while also glancing around the main floor of the shopping center to get her bearings of a place she knew quite well after her numerous visits here with Rachel in the past. "Princess Designs is on the third floor, they should be open until ten so that leaves us plenty of time to find you something nice and then go out for dinner…" she added in spontaneously while glancing down at Lyndsey with a smile. "Do you know where your parents live?" she asked quietly figuring it was worth a shot although still figured the child was alone without any family in Japan or why else would she had been sleeping in an alley unless she simply ran away from home which would have the same result of her needing someone to care for her now.

Instantly staring down at the ground in embarrassment when she heard the name of the store they were going to be shopping at as they boarded the escalator, Lyndsey tried to hide her deep blushing. Thinking about the question for a short second she nodded her head, "My mother and father are both archaeologists excavating in the Amazon rainforest… I have a hotel room under my father's name though at the Tristinia hotel…" she explained working the details out in her head in case Sonoko proved too nosey. The end of the escalator approaching rapidly from her perspective, she had to jump forward a bit to avoid getting her long t-shirt caught in the treadmill giving her enough time to think over the remaining details. "My caretaker Mr. Sargori never came to pick me up at the airport though so I tried to find my way to the hotel on my own…" she bluffed with surprising eloquence while recalling the name of one of the individuals she had observed on the obituary page of the newspaper, a young man who had lived as a proctor without any living family members and therefore zero alibis to prove her story false, while she had been reading it at the airport.

Sonoko paused while she listened to the child's explanation and simply shook her head at the 'negligence' of the man to leave an innocent little girl like Lyndsey all alone at an airport. Unaware the man had died in hospital yesterday morning after having suffered fatal injuries in a car accident. "Hmph! Well in that case, you can come and live with me until we can contact your parents or this Mr. Sargori… I'm not about to let any child live on her own, this is a big city and a lot of bad people who would love to get there hands on a sweet girl like you…" she replied firmly not willing to take 'no' for an answer. She knew they had plenty of spare rooms at her house, rather mansion, and she doubted the caretaker's ability to care for Lyndsey if he had failed to even pick her up from the airport on time. Shaking her head she sighed as they approached a large double glass door shop decorated in adorable girly colors and designs. The store displayed row upon row of adorable clothes, of all colors and styles, for girls ranging from ages one to thirteen years old.

Lyndsey rapidly shook her head when she heard Sonoko's offer, although before she could speak she felt the older woman's hand cover her mouth lightly to keep her from refusing. "You do not even know me, why are you being so nice…?" she asked with a slightly suspicious tone of voice while the entered the brightly colored store and she felt a bit queasy while observing a couple of the clothes from the corner of her eyes unable to believe Sonoko actually expected her to wear such girly attire. Rapidly feeling stupid for failing to have realized before what else the older woman might have had in mind for a 'cute little girl like her' since Sonoko did not have a clue who she really was and she could not exactly tell for a number of reasons surrounding her own, and Sonoko's, personal safety. The thought of those two men searching for her if the drug had done this to her accidentally made her shiver and the prospect of building up a guise to hide her true identity did have appealing options given the present situation regarding her physical state.

Aware Sonoko was right never the less, and living on her own would be a whole lot more difficult than temporarily staying with Sonoko since she did appear to have a number of useful resources and she could pay her back when she got back to normal. Her family was quite wealthy after all, and she knew nobody would be able to get a hold of her parents when they did not wish to be found which would mean she was basically at the mercy of a city which would likely not be too friendly to a child of her age. "I promise my parents will pay you back for everything when they come back…" she replied modestly and bowed politely in an effort to show her appreciation for the offer and for Sonoko being stubborn enough to make her think the offer over more carefully to see the benefits. Besides, she certainly was not familiar with being female, and would have to at least make an effort to adapt until she was able to return to normal.

Ruffling Lyndsey's long hazel brown hair lightly she shook her head and smiled, "You do not need to worry yourself about the costs Lyndsey, my father owns the Suzuki Financial Group and I'm positive he would not approve of letting you live on your own so you can consider yourself part of our family until we can locate your parents or that caretaker…" she offered while glancing over the racks of clothing until she spotted a dress she thought might look exceptionally lovely on Lyndsey's slender form. Selecting a knee-high solid apple-red sleeveless day-dress with a white trimming in a flowery design collar along the neck, shoulders, and bottom hemline; while a baby pink colored ribbon threaded beneath the fabric on the front and was visible from the back in the form of a bow which draped two inches on each side with a height nearly perfect for Lyndsey's size as Sonoko held it up for examination. "And now that we've settled that, Rachel and Conan should be here in about a half hour so let's find you something cute… Will you go and try this one on? Or would you like some help…?" she offered with a soft tone of voice, not quite certain whether Lyndsey was used to changing on her own yet though figured she would allow the child to decide.

Blushing profusely when Sonoko offered to help her change she instantly lowered her head with complete embarrassment, shook her head, and clutched the dress in her tiny hands before running off in the direction of the changing room signs she could see along the back wall of the store. Freezing in front of the detailed white ladies' changing room symbol on the doorway she swallowed and glanced down at herself for a half second before shaking her head rapidly. Turning on her heels to leave, she was blocked off by Sonoko who was holding both hand's on her hips observing Lyndsey's clear signs of reluctance. "Well, come on then, I will come in and help you change if you want Lyndsey…" she said with a confused tone of voice, having figured the shopping trip would have been zero problem at all although Lyndsey was acting quite strange for any normal little girl she had ever seen. When she had been young she loved trying on new clothes, she still did, and she did not see anything embarrassing about a seven year old girl acting for help changing.

Blinking her eyes up at Sonoko in surprise she blushed deeply and her expression showed her anxiety. A faint glance at the dress, then over her shoulder at the changing room doors, and then Sonoko and she had made up her mind. "I-I'll be alright I think…" she replied sheepishly and demurely turned to run into the changing rooms to avoid any further suspicion. Slipping into one of the stalls with beyond embarrassment she paused to glance around the small room and the mirror. Her eyes catching the faint glint of glass from the ceiling camera positioned to prevent theft. Climbing up on the two-foot tall bench, which felt more like a small mountain she used the angle of the camera to hide from its view while she slipped the shirt off over her head and tossed it over the lens to prevent any further filming. Pausing for a moment to ensure she was alone now, she sighed quietly and climbed down from the bench to glance at herself in the large mirror on the wall. The reflection surprising her faintly at first until she touched her finger to the glass and watched the reflection repeat her motion in reverse confirming it was indeed her body being displayed.

The reflection unmistakably that of an ordinary seven year old girl, with long shoulder length hazel brown hair and facial features attributing an adorable child. Using the size of the door, which she knew was built standard to six feet tall, she estimated her height at 3'6" or 43 inches and around 50 lbs in weight based on a trick she had learned at a carnival a number of years ago. Drifting her eyes down to her legs she did not need to check with her hand to be certain she was one-hundred percent female now. Sighing quietly while she bent down to pick up the dress she held it in front of herself at next level for a short moment to see how it looked in front of the mirror. Contemplating the reflection for a long moment she groaned quietly as she studied the image deciding it was quite adorable, had she been an ordinary little girl, although freezing when she heard Sonoko poke her head into the changing rooms since she had been taking so long.

"Are you alright Lyndsey…?" Sonoko asked softly, aware there was nobody else in the stalls given the later time and since most little girls were in bed by now. "Do you need any help…? You have been in there for nearly ten minutes?" she asked after a moment and checked her watch casually wishing she was able to understand kids like Rachel; she rarely even understood Conan half of the time, in more ways than one. She was also a fair bit curious how the dress would look and she wanted to be certain Lyndsey made a beautiful impression on Rachel and Conan since the child would be staying with her for the next few weeks. Slipping into the changing rooms quietly, she walked over to the row of changing stalls and raised an eyebrow when she noticed the t-shirt hanging off a part of the ceiling; failing to realize the camera being covered. Softly knocking on the door she waited a moment, "Lyndsey…?" she asked quietly, wondering if something had happened to the child since she had been quiet for so long and had not answered her the first two times.

Stiffening in surprise when she heard Sonoko call the first time, she groaned louder and held the dress out in front of her trying to figure out how to put the awkward thing on given all the ribbons. She may have been the number one detective in America, although it still took her nearly five minutes to figure out how the thing slipped on over her head and tightened around the waist and along the back to fit on her shoulders comfortably. She nearly screamed in surprise when she heard the knock on the door followed by Sonoko's soft yet concerned tone of voice. "N-No I'm alright… I-I'm almost done…" she replied shyly while she slipped the adorable red dress on over her held and used her hands to smooth out the creases along her waistline, shoulders, and neck collar. She used the mirror to from a side view to guide her hands enough to fasten the three buttons along her back beginning at the neck and ending along her non-existent bust line while she straightened out the ribbon at the back and pulled the dress downward from her hips to ensure a snug fit over her entire body. "One minute…" she called while she turned to the mirror and brushed at her hair with her hands to straighten it out, hoping a lovely appearance would explain all of the time she had spent 'changing' while she had been dealing with the camera and making sense of her body to avoid any odd questions or problems which might arise suspicion in the near or distance future.

Lyndsey ensured everything on the dress and her hair looked perfect before breathing a sigh of relief nearly a minute later and thinking to herself that this was not so difficult. Swaying from side to side lightly, while she watched the ribbon at her back sway and familiarized herself with the gravity of the outfit; she nodded to herself in the mirror for confidence before smiling. Climbing up on the bench a second time, the loose-fitting dress provided a mild bit of difficulty, partially along her legs which were bound from moving too far to either side which made climbing hard. Reaching up from the bench, she pulled the shirt down from the camera and innocently waved at the ceiling with a smile before hopping down and folded the shirt on the bench as rapidly as she could to not make Sonoko wait any longer. She felt embarrassed about having spent nearly fifteen minutes changing into a simple dress, cringed at the idea of having to go through this kind of thing every morning until she found a way to return to her old body and size.

Nervously opening the lock on the stall and poked her head out, although was surprised when she failed to spot Sonoko until she managed to spot Sonoko's red shoes from beneath the changing room doors. "What do you know, being this size does have its perks…" she thought quietly to herself with a light giggle and made her way to the door, pausing to take in a deep breath hoping she had done everything properly, and would not arise any suspicion. Opening the door, she blinked in surprise when she saw an unfamiliar boy sitting on a bench, while an older girl was talking to Sonoko in a casual fashion. Her confusion lifting the instant she connected the other woman to Rachel More based on the picture in the newspaper and smiled while she concluded that the boy, maybe a few months older than her and a bit taller, was Conan and her prime suspect for tracking down Jimmy Kudo since they were relatives. "Um… I-I'm done…" she said in her quietest tone of voice, wishing to inform she had emerged although not wishing to gain any attention if it could be avoided since she felt humiliated wearing a girly dress and ribbons in front of two strangers.

Sonoko and Rachel both turned when they heard the low voice behind them and instantly gushed when they saw how adorable Lyndsey looked in the dress. Sonoko bending down to softly check the tightness on the shoulders and waist to ensure it would be suitable to casual activities. Rachel on the other hand turned over to where Conan was sitting with a hand on her hips while she narrowed her eyes slightly "Well young man, what do you think?" she asked teasingly, knowing Conan was not interested in girls yet since he was far too young although figured his manners could be improved a bit based on his lazy position laying on the bench, with his hands under his head while he stared up at the ceiling watching the fan. "Oh… Um…" he replied in surprise and turned to look at Rachel nearly falling off the bench in the process causing all three girls to giggle quietly at his antics. "She looks nice…" he said casually with both his hands behind his head while staring up at Rachel until he caught her eyes gesturing down towards Lyndsey. "I mean… That dress looks really lovely on you…" he corrected himself and stared over at Lyndsey in an effort to not be rude.

Awkwardly fidgeting while Sonoko adjusted her dress slightly along the waist-line, the adjustments gave the dress more flow rather then restrictive movement at her hips. Unable to resist from giggling quietly as she watched Conan nearly fall off the bench when Rachel surprised him she blushed faintly when she got a descent look at his face without his glasses for a half second while he fixed them into position. "Awe, do you really mean it…?" she asked, faking an excited tone, while she squirmed free from Sonoko and quite innocently slipped her hands behind her back as she skipped over to Conan and paused in front of him as she did a faint spin to allow the dress to flow like she had practiced in the changing rooms. "Well? Do you really mean it?" she asked a second time catching his hesitation, while she took advantage of the awkward moment to analysis him casually trying to figure out a way to get close to him and Rachel without coming across as overly presumptuous or suspicious since she had to find Kudo and those two men in black.

Conan blinked at her forwardness and catching his casual attitude towards her outfit he nearly stumbled backward over his feet in surprise when she leaned in close refusing to give him any time to think of any sharp-witted answer. "Of course…" he replied with a faint pause while thinking of something else, and noticing her baby blue colored eyes matched the pink ribbon. "The colors really match your eyes…" he added in quickly, staring over her shoulder with a pleading look to Rachel who simply smiled and gave Conan a nod of her head in approval for his cute response. "My name is Conan, what is your name…?" he asked shyly in an effort to change the subject knowing girls usually overreacted about appearances and he felt like any answer he could give might be turned against him in one way or another. He had not managed to understand teenage girls while he had been Jimmy Kudo, and certainly did not understand the younger girls like Lyndsey or Amy one bit based on his numerous experiences with them over the past few months.

Observing his pleading expression she smiled softly, feeling a bit sorry for him since she knew that she was making him uncomfortable, although she also knew he had zero clue how embarrassed she felt having to be the girl rather then answer the girl. "My name is L… Lyndsey… It's a pleasure to meet you Conan-kun…!" she replied, catching herself a fair bit quicker this time. Although, when she noticed him staring at her with a bit of confusion, after catching her slip-up, she blushed faintly and without a second thought she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before stepping away a bit further. The mild blush turning into a red streak across her face while she lightly twiddled her fingers at her waist, out of his line of sight, certain that she had succeeded in changing the subject from any potential suspicion based on his expression of surprise while he held a hand to his cheek with an equally visible red streak across his entire face.

Disgusted with her impulsive trick to change the subject from her faint slip-up of names, she knew a detective had to do what they had to do in order to keep the tail cold on those who had vital information to solving a case. Although, on the other hand she was not entirely certain about whether that had been her only motivation, since she did think he was a bit cute, for a seven year old boy, and she wondered whether she might have responded in the same way if he looked a whole lot different. "S-Sorry… You just remind me of somebody…" she bluffed shyly, aware he did share a strikingly strong resemblance to Jimmy Kudo without the glasses although she dismissed that as merely a family relationship. Uncertain why she felt so awkward about the whole situation given she easily would have done the same thing if the roles had been reversed to save her an embarrassing situation if she had been the boy; so why was it so awkward now.

Sonoko was the first to break the awkward silence when she clasped her hands together and grinned at Rachel while drifting her eyes to Lyndsey and Conan a few feet away. "Awe Conan! Looks like you have an admirer, and a lovely one at that, wouldn't you agree kiddo?!" she teased glancing over at Rachel who had one hand covering her mouth in an effort to reduce the sound of her laughter. Her comments caused both Conan and Lyndsey to blush even deeper, albeit for entirely different reasons. "Anyhow, how about we all head out for dinner and crash at my house… We can come back tomorrow for a few more things, although I think that dress should be fine for tonight…" she added casually while she reached into her purse for her credit card to pay for the dress while they headed to the checkout and Rachel removed the price tag from Lyndsey's rear collar and blinked at the price 700.00, and the silk polymer material.

Sighing quietly at Sonoko she shook her head with a smile and handed the price tag to the cashier who processed the transaction. The counter too high for Lyndsey or Conan to see the price, and she had not bothered to chest while in the changing room due to her preoccupation with other things. "Conan and I already ate at home though, so how about we head over to your house and make a snack for everyone, I will call dad on the way and let him know we won't be coming home tonight…" Rachel offered while glancing down at Lyndsey with a smile thinking the young girl really did look adorable in the dress and despite the cost it was well worth it given what she had heard from Sonoko about the child during their short conversation while Lyndsey had been changing in the stall. She could not blame Sonoko for that generous offer to take the child in based on her story, although she hoped Sonoko would not decide too spoil her badly beyond the first couple of days while she was getting settled in at the Suziki estate.

Slipping the receipt in her purse, Sonoko shrugged her shoulders and nodded in response to Rachel's new question since she knew she could have a cook make something special at home. "Sounds good, and that means Conan can spend some more time with his cute admirer!" she teased, loving being able to get under the kids skin the rare times she found something that bothered him since he usually came across as smarter than her and she hated being out staged by a pint-sized kid. Lightly bending down to hug Lyndsey who had gotten over the embarrassment by now, and they both grinned slightly at Conan after Lyndsey caught on to the game and figured it could not hurt to play along. The group making there way out of the store and down the escalator while Rachel checked her watch and sighed realizing Conan should have been in bed by now since it was past eight although she figured once would be alright since it was a special occasion.

Lyndsey clung lightly to Sonoko's hand when they approached the revolving door, Conan simply raised an eyebrow to her behavior although dismissed it simply as her being a girl. Upon exiting the shopping center however, the cool evening air brushed up against the group of four, sending a shiver down Lyndsey's spine while the cold air nipped at her exposed skin and under the thin silky soft dress. Conan was the first to take notice of her discomfort while they began walking down the sidewalk towards Sonoko's home; slipping his jacket off his shoulders he held it out to Lyndsey softly. "Here… Can't have you be freezing…" he offered which sparked surprised yet approving glances from Sonoko and Rachel who grinned at each other causing Conan to blush faintly when he realized the source of their smiles; namely his gift to Lyndsey after her kiss.

Pausing on the promenade slightly, while she rubbed her arms together for warmth she felt beyond guilty for teasing him earlier with Sonoko when he was being so sweet. "T-Thank you Conan-kun…" she replied quietly and accepted the jacket, slipping it on over her shoulders lightly. A bit surprised when the sleeves hung over her wrists, covering her hands slightly, she shook it off when she remembered he was a bit taller than she was based on age and being a boy. The cool air nipping at her legs never-the-less, she felt a whole lot more comfortable with the warm jacket shielding her from most of the wind; although she did want to get into shelter soon to avoid catching a cold. Unable to believe girls actually wore clothing like this during colder periods of the year like in fall, feeling beyond humiliated by having to be bailed out by the boy who she had kissed and been teasing only a half hour ago. The sight of the residential zone gradually came into view after they had walked for about fifteen minutes, leaving Lyndsey nearly out of breath from all of the walking and due to fatigue from her younger body beginning to catch up with her mental responses.

Rachel was on the phone with her father by the time the group approached the Suziki estate and Sonoko entered the password on the gate to open it and was greeted by one of the butlers. "Good evening ma'dam shall I have the kitchen prepare your evening snack…?" he asked dutifully until he noticed the other three behind his master and smiled. "I'll have three rooms prepared for your guests at once…" he said and after receiving a faint nod from Sonoko turned to lead the way into the house. The main lobby pristine white as polished tiles reflected the radiant light from the chandeliers, two twin spiraling staircases leading up to the second floor while three doorways rested at each wall, one leading to the kitchen, the second to the living room and dining room, and lately the third leading to the games room. Rachel and Conan simply hanging their coats up in the closet after having been here a number of times in the past, Lyndsey on the other hand simply stared up at the massive lobby with an expression of disbelief while she looked up at Sonoko.

"You mean I am going to be living HERE with you Miss Sonoko-san…?" she asked shyly, not feeling like she was worthy of such a gracious offer when the older woman had already done so much to help her out with the clothing and getting her out of the awkward situation at the alley with the police. "Of course, what else did you have in mind…?" Sonoko replied casually while she hung her coat up in the closer and bent down to straight Lyndsey's dress and hair a bit until the butler returned. "I have prepared two rooms on the east wing for Miss More and her ward Conan, as for your long lady friend she shall have a room in west wing next to your room ma'dam… Is that antiquate?" he asked formally and bowed upon receiving a new nod of approval from Sonoko before he turned to gesture up the stairways leading to the east and west wing of the estate. "An evening snack will be brought to each of your rooms shortly I bid you all a good night…" he added in quietly before stepping aside while Conan and Rachel headed up the right set of stairs.

Rachel turned at the base of the stairs to glance over at Sonoko and Lyndsey with a smile while hugging Conan close to her to prevent him from running upstairs to the library like normal. "Good night you guys, and you really do look cute in your new dress Lyndsey…" she added sincerely while nudging Conan a bit forward and frowned when he simply blushed faintly and bowed without a word. Sighing and shaking her head she and Conan began heading up the stairs to the second floor, leaving Lyndsey and Sonoko alone to talk for a bit before bedtime. However, as they made there way down the hallway to the east wing, both of the girls could hear Rachel scolding Conan for his rudeness and not saying goodnight, and his retorts which she rapidly silenced until their voices disappeared down the corridor and Sonoko reached down her hand to lead Lyndsey up to their rooms and give her a brief tour of the upstairs since she would be staying her for a while and figured the young child should know where everyone was located. Sonoko reasoned she could explain the situation to her parents in the morning, though knew they would not disagree to allowing a cute kid like Lyndsey to stay at the estate until they had located her parents or the caretaker.

Touring the upstairs, Sonoko began with the library which was a virtual vault of books from her father's private collection gathered from all over the world. The second room was the study, which she explained would be off limits since her father did most of his business work in there and would not want her playing in the room with most of his files. The third room was the bathroom, located at the end of the wing, which was across from Sonoko's own bedroom on the left. Lastly, Sonoko showed Lyndsey the right bedroom which would be Lyndsey's room for as long as she stayed at the estate. The room itself nearly twice as large as Sonoko's with virtually anything a girl could ask for in a bedroom suite. "So what do you think?" she asked at last, hoping it would be satisfactory for Lyndsey to call home. In her personal opinion, the room was too much which was why she had taken the smaller room on the left when they moved into the house in the first place; although it was the best room at Lyndsey was part of the family in her opinion.

Staring at the room in awe, Lyndsey had to resist the urge to begin crying while she lightly nodded her head and blinked her large baby blue eyes up at Sonoko in gratitude. "I-It's perfect…" she said quietly, thinking it was far too perfect for what she deserved given up until a few hours ago they were complete strangers in addition she felt the only reason Sonoko was being so kind was because she thought she was actually only an ordinary lost and confused little girl. A far cry from reality although she could not correct Sonoko either for fear of what might happen to both of them if the men in black found out she was living at the estate that could tarnish the Suziki Financial Group's name if the media got a hold of the situation. Silently making a promise to herself to repay Sonoko for her gratitude regardless what the cost, although she was not quite certain what she could hope to give the young heiress that she did not already have beyond her friendship.

A quiet knock on the door behind the two girls made them both turn slightly to a maid carrying a plate of snacks, and two classes of milk, which she set on the main table in the room; bowed politely and then left the two girls in peace to enjoy the snack before bed. "Tomorrow we can all go shopping together and find you the rest of the things you'll need like pajamas, some more clothes, and other stuff… Although tonight you may as well sleep in your new dress, and get a good nights sleep…" Sonoko explained quietly while making her way to the coffee table and pulled up one chair, while bringing the other chair by the vanity over for Lyndsey to sit on while they ate the biscuits and freshly baked cinnamon buns. "So, come on, what's your opinion of Conan?" she asked coyly, curious to find out what Lyndsey really thought about him since she had kissed him out of the blue at the mall and he did offer her his jacket on the way home.

"He is sweet…" she replied shyly, uncomfortable talking about things such as boys, especially with another girl when she was still getting used to her new body as it stood and she was uncertain her feelings. Though, she also did not want to tell Sonoko of all people any lies so tried to think of a middle ground answer, "He is kind of cute I guess, a bit too clumsy though…" she explained deciding to comment on both a positive and negative side of Conan she had observed in the short time they had known each other. Observing the expression of delight on Sonoko's face with her response she swallowed in relief and took one of the two cinnamon buns and held it close to her mouth in an effort to prevent any further questions. The size of the bun more than she felt she could eat, let alone before going to bed, although it did smell delicious so a bit would not hurt at all she figured and she sunk her tiny teeth into the soft bread as she smiled in delight.

Sonoko smiled mischievously while she listened to Lyndsey, and particularly keened in on her thinking he was cute and calling Conan too clumsy. "He is also a know-it-all, although I guess he is kind of cute after you get past all that other stuff…" she said sincerely not wanting to hurt Lyndsey's feelings while casually watching the child enjoy the cinnamon bun although only managing to eat half before setting the rest down at the edge of the platter clearly full and unable to eat the rest. Finishing her own cinnamon bun she smiled and stood up, lightly picking up the tray to return it to the kitchen while watching Lyndsey for a moment or two lovingly. "I'm glad you decided to stay here Lyndsey, Japan can be dangerous so you've got to be on your toes sometimes… Although, we can talk more tomorrow when we all wake up, we will probably leave for the mall around noon so until then we can all talk or play in the games room…" she offered while she watched the child softly rub her eyes and yawn despite the clear attempt to remain awake.

Heading to the door, she opened it carefully and stepped out into the hall, "I'll be right back, I'm just going to drop this off in the kitchen and then I'll be back up to tuck you in… Alright…?" she offered and smiled when Lyndsey nodded faintly and stood up from the chair. Sonoko took advantage of the brief silence to slip downstairs and drop the tray off in the kitchen before making her way upstairs. Surprised when she returned to find the door a crack open and the light already off; poking her head inside she saw Lyndsey already curled up under the sheets and the window closed with drapes half open. "Goodnight Lyndsey, I will be next door if you need anything during the night…" she replied quietly and closed the door behind her leaving it open a crack in case Lyndsey was afraid of the dark which she highly doubted by now.

Walking down to her room she could not help but smile lightly while she thought about how clever, lovely, and brave Lyndsey was to have been able to adapt so easily to the new settings. Aware most children would have done far worse, although she also was a bit concerned about how to contact the child's parents or what they might do when they found out their daughter was now staying with a virtual stranger. She was actually a bit worried Lyndsey's parents might rush to Japan to take her home where she might never get to see the child again; having grown fond of Lyndsey in the short time they had known each other, she thought of her more as the younger sister she had never had than a stranger. Slipping into her room she closed the door and changed into her pajamas before finally flicking off the light and crawling into bed, lost in thought for once in her life about what they were going to do tomorrow and how she could make Lyndsey feel special.

In the other room, Lyndsey was buried beneath the covers using the night-light at the side of her bed to study the map she had slipped out of the newspaper in Sonoko's purse while she had been downstairs. A keen eye tracing the lines to locate any familiar scenery between the Suziki estate, the shopping center, and the alley she had encounter those two men. Unable to determine any real significance of that spot compared to the rest of Japan, she sighed quietly wondering where she would begin searching for the two men and for the cure for her current affliction. Sighing quietly in dismay, she folded the map up neatly and reached over to slip it under her mattress between the wooden baseboard and the sheet to avoid anyone from discovering it while she was not around not that it would make too big of a difference. Switching off the night light, she cuddled her head against the feathery soft pillar and pulled the quilted sheet up against her tightly.

Shifting around awkwardly for nearly five minute in an attempt to find a comfortable position; she found it quite a bit harder to get comfortable than she had in her old body. Aware the changes would simply take time to get familiar with; although with school starting in four months time was not a commodity. In time, she gradually found a comfortable position on her side, and began her body's fatigue caught up with her at last as she drifted off into a deep sleep. The covers pulled up tightly to her chin she looked like an adorable angel sleeping in a bed she occupied only a tenth of the space. The quilt softly tucked under her whole body from feet to her clinging hands at her head level to ensure nobody could pull it away without her as well. A couple of strands of her hair blowing over her face as a result of the rotating fan on the roof, although she simply brushed them away with one hand instinctively while lost in a grandiose detective dream.

**A/N:** Hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter, feel free to leave comments since it's the only way I'll know what needs to be improved upon and what to leave the same. As for plotline hope you were all playing very close attention to the details in the chapter, or you might not be able to solve the next chapter, "The Case of the Department Store Murder" and the introduction of two prominent characters in the Case Closed series. I expect chapters will be going up once a month, all with a minimum of 7500 words, ideally a fair bit longer.


	2. The Case of the Missing Jimmy Kudo

A/N: "The Case of the Department Store Murder" has been moved to chapter three. Decided I would detail the characters a bit further, and it would have ended up way too long had I combined them; so without any further ado: "The Case of Detective Jimmy Kudo" enjoy and keep up the reviews; only way I'll know how I am doing, fixed the errors of Moore and Kudo.

It was still dark out when Lyndsey awoke in a cold sweat after having a nightmare about the two men in black finding her and seeking revenge. Softly burying her face in her palm's while she faintly shook her head in an effort to remove a couple of those thoughts and images lingering from the dream. Managing to shake off the feelings a moment later, she was startled by a warm wet residue on the sheets where she had been sleeping. Pulling away the covers in a panic she felt a deep red streak cross her cheeks after realizing her accident due to the room and felt even more humiliated. "I wet the bed…?" she asked quietly in a low yet surprised tone of voice while she crawled to the side of the bed and allowed her feet to hang over the side enough to stare out of the window. The morning sun was barely rising above the horizon she estimated the time to be around four or five in the morning based on Japan's position in the solar year. It was truly wonderful way to her first full day in this diminutive and uncomfortable body of an innocent and cute child.

Climbing out of the bed she cringed slightly as the wet portion of her dress slapped across her legs enough to prove her earlier conclusion much to her dismay. Turning to her side she lifted the wet portion of the dress up to the light shining in through the window and sighed hoping it would not leave a stain since she hated the idea of Sonoko or anyone else teasing her about this later. Releasing her hold on the dress, she sleepily rubbed at her eyes while she made her way down the loft doing her best to ignore the slapping of the dress against her exposed legs. Exiting her room quietly, she tip-toed across the hall to the bathroom and tried to reach the door knob which she had to stretch quite a bit to get a grab on before the door began to creek open and she slipped in side clothing it behind her as quietly as possible. Her eyes adjusting to the darkened room after a moment she had to pull a small step-stool over to the wall to turn on the light which nearly blinded her in surprise. The bathroom was fairly large with a bathtub, shower, sink, and medicine cabinet above the mirror which she could barely see by standing on her toes below the marble sink.

Rushing over to the toilet, she stared up at the large white rim which rose above her head causing her to groan quietly as she went over to collect the stool and move it into position. Struggling to climb up to the actual seat, she nearly fell in by accident due to her misjudging her new size in comparison to the rim. Her hand's lightly pulled the edges of the dress up to her waist to avoid getting in the way while she focused on moving her new muscles enough to release. Initially, she tried to force it although soon found it futile and released her muscles only to be rewarded by the familiar sound of water flowing into the bowl. Waiting for a couple of minutes until she was certain she was finished, and hopped back down on stool and allowed her dress to fall down to her ankles while she wiped herself off with a bit of toilet paper and leaned over to pull down the lever and flush before climbing down to the ground a second time and examined her dress.

Eyeing the darker red areas of the wet fabric she groaned quietly and hung her head in shame while she wrapped a layer of toilet paper around her hand and used it to pad the wet areas in an effort to prevent any stains from setting in on the soft and thin fabric. Her efforts rewarded by removing most of the wet traces although she felt it was still noticeable while she stared at it closely. Pulling the stool over to the sink, she climbed up and lightly ran warm water over a fresh piece of folded paper which she used to wash the areas of her dress which had gotten wet during her accident. Unable to believe she had actually wet the bed since the last time she had done that was over ten years ago which made her curious exactly how childish she was despite all of her efforts to act mature. Checking the clock on the wall she sighed, "5:13 huh…?" she said quietly to herself while cleaning up her dress until she had gone through a third of a roll of the toilet paper and had to flush several times before she was satisfied in having removed the traces of her accident.

Wavering a moment in front of the mirror she smiled faintly while she studied her reflection and tilted her head lightly to the left and right practicing a few expressions. Aware that if she was going to pull of being able to pretend that she was a child she would have to be a lot more careful than she had been since even that other kid Conan had appeared to catch the faintest slip-up with her fictional name. Practicing a varied assortment of expressions and poses from innocence, to curiosity, to adorable, and lastly to anger although she rapidly found that regardless what she tried it still came across as overly cute given her appearance as an ordinary seven year old girl with rather well defined feminine traits for her age. Lightly running a hand through her long hazel brown hair which tapered off a bit below her shoulders in length she tried making a few designs and styles although ultimately decided straight was the most natural looking style. Hoping she had not lost any of her touch for observing details based on people's outward appearances she actually was a bit surprised by how much she liked posing in front of the mirror; familiarizing herself with her new body and playing with the edges of her dress in an effort to appear formal, semi-formal, and informal motions.

Climbing down off the stool once she was satisfied with the situation she leapt a bit to hit the light switch plunging the bathroom into darkness as she slipped out into the hallway. However, she nearly collided with the butler from last night who had been going to awaken the lord of the house, Sonoko's father, for an early morning conference call which had just been received. "Oops! S-Sorry…" she said quietly, rushing to pick up the papers she had caused him to drop and handed them up to him with a faint blush. Remembering her bed she blushed even deeper and averted her eyes in embarrassment while she stared at his feet innocently for a faint moment while he stared at her in confusion. "Erm… Where is the laundry room…?" she asked quietly and feigning an innocent expression like she had been practicing a moment ago in the bath room.

"Oh do not fret young miss; I did not expect anybody else to be awake at this time… Why do you ask?" he asked suspiciously although figuring that it was an innocent question. Observing her blushing even deeper at his question he noticed her dress was still a bit wet from the water she had been using to clean off any of the stains and smiled. "I shall deal with the sheets after I wake the master… You can go and watch some television in the den if you would prefer…" he offered while he finished resorting the papers in his hands while he studied the child for a short moment. He could not see any other reason a child of her age might be awake this early in the morning or why her dress would be slightly damp with water. "The den is down the stairs and across from the front door, the remote should be on the coffee table, I think the cartoons should be on by now…" he added with a soft smile in an effort to cheer the innocent child up slightly.

Lyndsey blinked up at him in surprise, and tried to hide her extreme embarrassment when he mentioned her sheets and realized he had figured out her small accident. "P-Please do not tell anybody…" she asked with a pleading kind of look as she nervously held her hand's in front of her softly. Her anxiety shifting to pure gratitude in the instant that he smiled a second time and nodded his head in agreement before turning to go to his master's room to inform him of the conference call in the study. Politely bowing she waited until he had disappeared into one of the rooms which she assumed belonged to Sonoko's mother or father since both Rachel and Conan had been sleeping on the other wing. Realizing Sonoko had yet to introduce her to any of the family she yelped quietly and ran down the hall the opposite direction toward the stairs. Hoping to avoid an awkward situation before she had been properly introduced she made her way down the stairs, careful not to trip over the edge of her dress while holding the railing, dismayed by how high it was now.

Upon reaching the main lobby, she began to head towards the room(s) across from the front door until she heard a faint laughter from the room on the right. Running over to the side, she placed her ear up against the door to figure out who was speaking on the other side and why so early in the morning. However, not expecting the door to be a swaying hinged door, she stumbled in by accident to see three women already busily rushing around preparing breakfast for everybody. Landing on the floor she glanced only to see two of the women standing over her with their hand's placed firmly on their hips. "And what are you up to…?" one of the women asked softly, bending down to help Lyndsey to her feet while staring the child eye level for a moment while the other two women stood on either side. "Miss Suzuki said your name was Lyndsey right sweet heart?" the second woman offered while brushing a bit of dust of Lyndsey's dress.

Remaining silent for a moment, it took her a second to recall what had happened and she had lied about her real name yesterday. Faintly nodding her head she innocently glanced around the kitten observing a number of supplies already out and realizing her, Rachel, and Conan were probably imposing quite a lot of work on these three women to make a breakfast for the entire household of who knew how many staff. "Uh-huh, do you need any help…?" she offered quietly, primarily trying to change the subject before it was questioned why she had fallen into the kitchen in the first place although also since she knew she was a guest and the people living here had already been more than kind to her by now. Beyond that, doing what she could help with in the kitchen defiantly would beat being subjected to those kiddy-cartoons the butler had suggested, the thought of somebody actually thinking she would like those things felt beyond degrading.

The three women stared at each other in surprise for a moment before nodding and looking back to the child softly. "Alright, you can help mix the batter…" one of the women offered while offering a hand for their young assistant. Aware Lyndsey was 'too' young to cook or cut anything with a knife, although the pancake batter felt the perfect task for somebody of her age willing to help with the cooking. Scooping her up lightly, the woman carried Lyndsey over to the counter and sat her at the edge while one of the other women brought over a tall stool over her to stand on while she mixed the batter. The third collecting the wooden spoon, milk, flour, and other essentials which she set on the counter next to Lyndsey before all three went to collect an apron which they folded at the bottom to fit Lyndsey perfectly. "Do you know how to do it sweet heart?" the second woman asked curiously while pouring in the right servings according to her memory while the other two put her on the stool and dressed her in the apron to protect her dress.

Beyond humiliated by all the attention she tried her hardest to ignore it and feigned a grateful look as she nodded her head and reached for the wooden spoon. The three women smiled at each other and returned to their work, while Lyndsey worked at the batter rapidly finding it quite difficult to mix with her new muscle mass and shorter reach to hold and stir the bowl. Taking nearly thirty minutes to get the consistency correct she sighed quietly knowing it should have taken only half the time at best for an adult. "All finished…" she proclaimed innocently and brushed her hands against the apron faintly to remove any signs of flour. One of the maids came over to examine it and smiled at the result while running a cloth over the counter to clean up any of the spilled flour and batter to keep the counter sparkly clean. Although, before she could thank the young lady for a task well done a knock came from the door, and Sonoko stood in the door way a bit surprise to see Lyndsey standing on the stool with an apron despite clearly not being a morning person.

"What in the world are you doing awake so early kiddo…?" Sonoko asked curiously with a smirk while she went over to help Lyndsey down off the stool. Failing to see any harm in her having come to help with the breakfast, in fact she thought it was kind of adorable, although most children would be sleeping. Recalling the reason she had come in, she smiled and looked up at the three maids who were working, "Oh, my dad said he has to leave for the office so he will not be staying for breakfast…" she explained causing one of the maids to raise an eyebrow curiously although knew more than to pry into issues which were none of her or the other staff's concern. "He had a business meeting to attend, although I have some good news for you Lyndsey…!" she beamed happily, brushing a strand of hair away from the child's face while she bent down to hug her softly while looking up at the maids. "I spoke with father before he left, and he said it would be fine for you to stay with us as long as you need to until we can contact your family… So, from now on you can consider yourself part of the family…!" she teased as the girls stared in disbelief.

The maids slightly shocked that the unknown child was going to be staying at the estate, not so much due to her unknown background though since Sonoko had clearly spoken to Lyndsey about this earlier based on the way she had informed the child. "That's wonderful! The young miss has been a lot of help, who knew she was going to be staying longer…" the first maid commented with modest excitement while examining the batter and bending down to look Lyndsey in the eye. "You will have to let us know your favorite foods so we can make it sometimes sweet heart…" she offered softly while the other two had returned to work with various tasks although continued to pay attention to the conversation. All three fairly impressed with the child willingly volunteering to help even though she likely knew she would be staying for a while, it was rare to see children who actually liked to help others when possible despite apparent social rank.

Sonoko smiled and stood up offering a hand down to Lyndsey, "Come on kiddo, I'll give you a tour since we're both awake and all…" she said with a sleepy yawn. Smiling when Lyndsey nodded, the two headed out of the kitchen, leaving the three women in silence until they were out of ear shot, before continuing to gossip like they had been before Lyndsey had intruded nearly an hour ago. "Alright, the basement is down here, on the left is the laundry room, the wreck room is on the right…" Sonoko began leading Lyndsey to a door across the lobby on the left. Walking over to a door across from the front door she opened it to reveal a hallway leading into three rooms, "The left is the pool, in here is the games room, and lastly the right is the dining room… We will buy you a swimsuit today at the mall…" she offered sincerely. Opening up the door leading to the pool to reveal an average sized indoor swimming pool about twenty meters long and ten meters wide, a hot-tub off to the side, and a towel rack off to the right of the door.

Closing the door she smiled and waved a finger lightly, "Although, you are not allowed in the pool unless somebody is supervising you, is that understood…?" she asked with an oddly serious tone in her voice as she bent down to eye level with Lyndsey who swallowed shyly and nodded her head. "Great! Now, think that is everything you will need to know for now… There is a bathroom across from the front door on the left, and one on either wing upstairs…" she added while opening the door to the games room and leading the child inside revealing a fairly large room with a pool table, massive television screen, stereos, and a number of cutting edge video gaming systems. "What would you like to do for now? I'll let you pick…" she offered sitting down on the lounge and reaching for the remote figuring the answer would be either video games or watch cartoons like most children would suggest. However, blinked as Lyndsey ran over towards the entertainment system and pulled a large box out from the bottom and set it on the table next to Sonoko with an excited look on her eyes. A quick glance at the box caused her to raise an eye brow, "You want to play chess…?" she asked with a pause, "You and Conan are made for each other…" she teased a bit knowing Conan always beat her, although Lyndsey did not strike her as nearly as clever so it was okay.

Smiling happily, Lyndsey rapidly unpacked the game relieved to be able to finally do something she loved despite being trapped in the body of a child. Her speed at setting up both sides causing Sonoko to begin to regret her initial perception of Lyndsey as the child made her first move without any real thought leaving her to play black. The game ending within five minutes, with Sonoko losing have her pieces and king by the time Lyndsey had lost three pawns, all of which used as bait to secure other pieces of higher value. A victory which caused the child to smile softly, that was until she saw Sonoko's frustration as the older girl began setting up the board for a rematch refusing to lose to a child. "I was only going easy on you the first time Lyndsey; this will be the real match alright…?" Sonoko offered which caused a faint bead of sweat to roll down the side of Lyndsey's face, although a faint feeling of guilt building in her when she realized she was humiliating Sonoko by beating an adult while she looked like an ordinary girl younger then seven.

The second match lasted for nearly thirty minutes, with Lyndsey intentionally trying to lose the entire time although trying to make it look convincing which proved exceedingly difficult. Relieved when Sonoko has finally managed to win, she breathed a side of relief as Conan and Rachel knocked on the door and entered both observing the two playing chess. "You two could not sleep either, huh?" Rachel offered while Conan rushed to the table to see the positions although stared in confusion at the shear strategy of positioning of the white pieces controlled by Lyndsey, versus Sonoko's random black positions, despite Sonoko clearly have been the winner. "Would you like to play a game Lyndsey…?!" Conan offered while he moved to set up the pieces for a new game while Rachel and Sonoko looked at each other nodded and smiled. "Erm, well I do not know…" Lyndsey said quietly, knowing it was one thing to beat an adult fair and square although to defeat a child like Conan would be simply too simple and she did not want to humiliate him by losing to a girl if he was one of those kinds of boys who thought girls had cooties or something else weird.

Sonoko frowned at the response, "Come on Lyndsey, he is really good…" she offered, hoping Lyndsey might actually be able to beat the four-eyed junior detective. The slight prodding all Lyndsey needed, as she did not wish to disappoint Sonoko on such a simple request and nodded her head in agreement. "You can pick your color Conan…" she offered deciding to give him every advantage, and watched as he went to move the white pawn although paused when Rachel poked him on the back and shook her head with a quite disapproving stare. "Ahem, ladies first…?" Conan asked sheepishly up to an upset Rachel who nodded her head with a smile and took a pool cue from Sonoko to play their own game while the children had a game of chess. Rachel was not quite comfortable with letting Conan play, although she hoped he would not be too cruel, since she knew he had beaten herself, her father, and Sonoko a number of times in the past.

Selecting black, since she knew Conan had wanted white, Lyndsey smiled softly when he made his first move and she match him with a mirror. "Best of luck…" she said quietly, while both thought 'you'll need it' about the other person. Fifteen minutes later, and thirty-two moves in, Lyndsey won the first match by taking his queen with a knight in check, and advancing from there in the next four moves. "Good game!" she said quietly, surprised at how good of a game it had been prior to her taking his queen, the pieces on either side matched move for move with precision, thought, and speed. Conan blinked in surprise while he could hear Sonoko laughing quietly while she and Rachel played a game of pool, "Could we do one more?" he asked shyly with a hand behind her head. Relieved when she nodded her head, he set up all of the pieces and spun the board so she could be white this time. Her first move the same he had done and he responded by mirroring her with the black pawn. The game playing out for nearly forty minutes this time, the wall clock saying 7:42 by the time the game finally ended in Conan's favor after nearly ending up a stalemate with only three pieces, two pawns and a knight, each left on the board leaving Lyndsey quite surprised.

"You are really good Conan…" Lyndsey praised in surprise, folding her hands shyly in her lap after she realized she had lost to a 'child' she blushed faintly. The sight of her blushing, and remembering her kiss from the other night, causing Conan to blush as well as he moved to set up the pieces to end the awkward moment produced as a result of a 1:1 victory. "You are too… One more, best two out of three…?" Conan offered quietly and smiled as she nodded since he rarely got to play anybody half as good as her while he was living with the Moore's and surrounded by elementary school students. Surprised anyone his 'age' was this good, although, he dismissed it merely as her being a child prodigy as he finished setting up the board and allowed her to choose the color this time. Her choice white and the game began at 7:46, while Rachel and Sonoko finished their own game and sat down to watch. "So you are related to Jimmy Kudo, Conan? I heard he is a really great detective…" she asked innocently while making her first move which causes all three of the others to stare at her with surprise and confusion to her mention of the missing detective.

Conan blinked in surprise and rapidly shook his head, "No… He is a friend of my relative Dr. Agasa…" he replied carefully remembering Agasa had told Rachel he was his relative the day she had found him shrunk at his house. The response causing Lyndsey to blink in surprise while she recalled her conversation with the Sonoko yesterday when they had first met; Sonoko equally confused by the response she looked at Rachel, "Dr. Agasa said that he was one of Jimmy's relatives when I was talking to him once…?" she asked with a clear confusion causing all three to stare at Conan for an explanation. Conan racing to find a solution while realizing Agasa had likely forgotten what he had told Rachel while talking to Sonoko that one time. "I think you heard Dr. Agasa-sensei wrong Sonoko-san…?" he asked with an innocent tone of voice which caused the rather clueless Sonoko to simply nod with an intentional thoughtful expression to hide her shyness.

Turning her attention to the game of chess which had been continuing with surprising skill despite the entire conversation she had trouble following the reasoning for a couple of the moves. "I must have, sides he is way cuter than you squirt!" Sonoko teased ruffling Conan's hair while she noticed the strange focus that Lyndsey was paying to Conan with minimal regard to the game. "Conan-kun… Can I speak with you alone for a moment…? Oh, and checkmate…" she added with surprising calmness as she moved her bishop into position forcing Conan into checkmate for the second time. All three stared at the board in disbelief while Conan stared at Lyndsey who was shyly resting both hand's in the fold of her dress. The silence was thick enough to cut with a knife, until a knock came from the games room door with the butler standing in the entrance way with a cloth folded over his right arm to signal breakfast had been fully prepared.

Wasting zero time, Conan bolted up at ran out of the room and into the dining room where he crawled up on one of the large chairs and hungrily clutches a fork and butter knife in his hands. The odd reaction had all three of the girls confused, although Lyndsey simply smirked while they headed into the dining room, and she took a seat next to Conan despite his clear, yet silent, protest to her sitting so close. Snatching his glasses without warning, she held them in her lap and out of his reach while she stared at his face a short moment despite his attempts to look away, although primarily from Rachel and Sonoko across the table who were staring in confusion. "You are really cute without your glasses Conan-kun!" she teased with an innocent tone while she handed him the glasses which he rapidly placed back on his face to avoid Rachel from seeing or getting too good of a look at his real face; though blushed at Lyndsey's random comment.

Recalling the image from the newspaper of Jimmy Kudo, she found the relationship uncanny and knew he was lying about something since he and Agasa looked nothing alike unlike him and Kudo. In addition, she found it strange how an ordinary child would have stood a chance against her in chess, even if she was a bit egotistical, since she was the American national chess champion three years running. "I bet you are really good at a lot of things… Do you know how to play soccer Conan…?" she asked innocently as she lightly slipped her hand over his between them as she recalled reading that Kudo was a soccer super-star ranked player in addition to being an established detective. It occurred to her that he was related to Kudo and he might have been lying since he knew where to find the detective and did not want anyone to know about the relationship or being a relative. Although, on the other hand, that would still not explain a few of the other clues she had picked up in the short time she had known or heard about this strange little boy.

Widening his eyes in surprise he nervously rubbed a hand behind his head with a faint blush flaring across his cheeks when he felt her hand. "I'm alright…" he said modestly while eyes her out of the corner of his eye uncertain what she was up to or where she came from though he did not like it at all. It occurred to him that Haibara was playing a practical joke on him somehow although Sonoko said she had found the girl in an alley unconscious from what he had heard from Rachel and Sonoko's conversation yesterday. Rapidly grabbing at his fork he reached over the table to stab a pancake and carry it over to his plate and started to nervously cut it into small pieces hoping she might drop her questions. "So where are your real parents then Lyndsey…?" he asked curiously, hoping to change the subject although grimaced when he received a glare from Rachel across the table forcing him to be quiet on the spot although still hoping for an answer.

"Archaeology trip… Do you read at all Conan-kun? I like Sherlock Holmes, how about you…?" she asked, nudging a bit closer to him since both chairs were pressed up against each other and one was more than big enough to fit both children. She knew he was lying to her based on that odd expression Sonoko and Rachel had both given Conan when he answered her soccer question. Innocently resting her hand's in her lap while she watched him slicing his pancake with the dull knife. "Will you cut mine too Conan-kun? My mommy does not let me handle knives yet…" she asked with an adorable expression while faintly glancing over at Rachel to see her response when Conan began sweating faintly and dropped his knife, by accident, on the ground where he dropped down off the chair to retrieve it and separate himself from the question. Irritated as he slipped off the chair to 'retrieve' his knife she feigned a disappointed expression and raised her eyes up to Sonoko curiously aware she may have gone a bit too far although she had all she needed by now.

Conan was under the table slowly and quietly crawling towards the side with the door in an effort to avoid the awkward situation. He was not certain what she was up to, though she certainly was not as clueless as he had figured upon their first meeting. Holding his knife up at the edge of the table to see a reflection of where everyone was looking, waiting until they looked away before he dashed out of the open door and into the hallway leading to the lobby. Rachel thinking she heard something and checked under the table only to find Conan gone which made her less than happy while she looked around the room. Sonoko was busy cutting up Lyndsey's pancake clueless to the whole situation. Lyndsey on the other hand had been using the distraction from Sonoko cutting her food to watch Conan bolt out of the room which made her smile faintly to herself and rapidly toss her hand's in her lap feigning discomfort and looked up at Sonoko for only a short moment before squirming a bit in her chair to acquire a bit of attention from both teenagers.

"Can I please be excused to go to the bathroom…?" she asked innocently and tried to hide her excitement when both Rachel and Sonoko looked at each other for a moment and then nodded in confusion. Leaping down off of the chair she bolted out of the room. Running left into the lobby, she paused at the doorway upon hearing the sound of the television in the lounge flicker to life the sound rapidly being muted. Her head faintly poking around the corner to ensure Sonoko and Rachel were not looking before running the short distance across the hallway, visible from the dinning room, and into the games room with Conan as she hid next to a coffee table to avoid being spotted by anyone from the lobby. "_What kind of kid chooses news over cartoons…?_" she thought to herself quietly as she snuck over behind the chesterfield watching while Conan lightly kicked his legs against the side while he watched the television with clear interest. A bit embarrassed it had taken her this long to pick up on the clues although she had evidence now.

Rapidly hiding the remote under a pillow when he heard the footsteps first, he assumed Rachel had caught his escape-artist act and was going to give him another lecture. His expression resonating disappointment when he noticed it was Lyndsey rather then Rachel and noticed her strange expression. "Hello! I was um checking the news to see if Mr. Moore was on yet from his big case last night…" he replied nervously as she studied him with an obviously serious expression. Her expression freezing when she held out a hand allowing two ordinary lens-shaped pieces of glass to fall to the carpeted floor with a faint clicking sound while he realized she had popped the glass, Dr. Agasa has installed, out of his glasses when she had been holding them for that short moment. His vision perfect without the glasses, he had Agasa install two clear pieces of glass to give the illusion they were real. "Who are you…?" he asked cautiously hoping down off the lounger and carefully fitted both pieces of glass back into the frame before placing the glasses back on his face and studied her for a long moment wondering exactly how much she knew to do such a thing.

"Conan-kun that was my question… Or should I say Kudo-kun…?" she asked with a teasing wink while lowering her shoulder's with an innocent expression. Observing his reaction she smiled sharply upon and waited for him to confirm her suspicion. Her expression turning to a frown when she saw begin acting nervous, and rather pathetic, in her opinion. "What are you talking about Lyndsey-chan? I am just an ordinary elementary school kid, and he is a famous detective…?" he replied innocently feigning his old child-like clueless expression. Freezing when she held her face a half inch from his a short moment then pulled away waving a finger in the air teasingly while she shook her head. "Then you will not mind that I tell Miss Moore you do not need your glasses…?" she asked coyly as she turned to leave, quite intent on doing exactly that until she felt his hand on her shoulder and spun around with a proud expression.

Conan sighed and narrowed his eyes at her for a moment despite her clear attempts to feign innocence to this whole situation. Faintly peeking over her shoulder to ensure Rachel or Sonoko was not within ear shot before nodding his head faintly in defeat. "What do you want…?" he asked suspiciously while removing his glasses to polish the glass faintly with his sleeve without removing his eyes from her for a moment. A bit suspicious to where she had come from, his main concern was ensuring her intentions since she was the first person to figure out his identity on her own without any assistance. The thought that she had done it in such a short time sent a shudder down his spine if she was working with that black organization somehow, although on the other hand she claimed to be a Holmes fan and on that alone she could not be all that bad.

Frowning slightly at his suspicious staring, she glanced over her shoulder and noticed the open door with a faint sigh recalling Rachel had closed it on the way to the dining room. Running over to the door she had to stand on her toes to get a firm hold on the handle, although turned it as she closed the door, releasing on her hold once it was closed to avoid the click of the incline forcing in the lock for a second. Slipping her hands behind her back she smiled upon realizing she had traveled halfway around the world to find a kid. "Do not be afraid, I will not tell anybody… Although, did two men in black do this to you…?" she asked curiously while using her hand to slide a few strands of her hair over her shoulder. She was beginning to distain long hair since she could hardly move her head without it getting in her face in one way or another. Unable to figure out why any girl would care for long hair, although knew if she were to cut it shorter would attract unwanted attention. A faint nod from Conan confirming her suspicions although before he could reply the two froze to the sound of the door-knob beginning to turn and they dove behind the chesterfield.

The two children smiling at each other faintly with a smirk as they watched Rachel and Sonoko's from underneath the chesterfield. "Do you really like Holmes, Lyndsey?" Conan whispered quietly while he watched Rachel, distinctive by her shoes; remain at the door way for a long moment before he heard her sigh in disappointment and both turning to walk away. Blinking in surprise to his question she nodded her head with an obvious kind of look while she smiled as she placed a hand lightly over his while they heard the sound of the door clicking closed. "Of course I do… He is my hero, though that is fiction and this is real life, and I am interested in those two men in black as well…" she confessed sincerely, figuring that having him around might prove useful to tracking down those men and finding an antidote. Reluctant to explain the entire truth behind her existence prior to being found by Sonoko since she was uncertain the connection Kudo might have had with those men although she assumed it was not positive.

Aware exposing herself prematurely could end in endangering not only herself, though Sonoko, and others who had already become too close to her despite her initial caution. "Come on, we should get back before either Rachel or Sonoko miss us too much…" she said with a smirk as she rolled to her feet and used one hand to softly brush off her dress to hide the dust which would expose she had not been in the bathroom which honestly was still humiliating enough as it was given it had been at least fifteen minutes. Sneaking up to the door, she placed her ear to it for a moment to ensure there were zero voices or footsteps outside before standing on her toes to open the door a crack and peak outside. Motioning with her hand when she saw it was clear, she snuck back into the dining room with Conan right behind her but froze in the doorway when she heard Rachel clear her throat from a spot at the table causing her to blush shyly and Conan failed to realize it in time and nearly stumbled over her while he was looking over his shoulder for Rachel.

"Conan… What were you doing…?" Rachel asked with a clearly upset tone of voice while folding her arms a bit as she stood up and walked over to the two children. Sonoko sighing figuring Lyndsey had run into the troublemaker after she had gone to the bathroom. "Oh who cares Rachel, now come on you guys, hurry up and eat so we can head over to the mall…" Sonoko said teasingly, winking at Lyndsey faintly in an effort to bail her, and Conan as a result, out of a possible lecture. Lyndsey and Conan stared at blankly at each other for only a moment before racing over to their seats and climbing up, wasting zero time in eating their breakfast to avoid any further questions. Conan was uncertain why Sonoko was being kind to him for once although figured it had to do with Lyndsey and decided to make it up to Sonoko later for saving him one of Rachel's famous lectures about why he should be a polite guest and not run off without her time and time again wishing he could simply tell her who he really was and hoped Lyndsey would keep her promise; it was not like he could do anything even if she did decide to snitch about the secret he hid for months.

Recalling his conversation with her in the games room he knew she sounded like she was an honest sweet girl, a lot like Ayumi, and she was defiantly smart enough to figure out his secret. Although, her knowledge of the men in black was what had him interested the most, since she either knew more than she was initially letting on or might be another victim of the drug like himself and Haibara. The other option, beyond her the victim of the drug, was that she had connections to the organization directly or somebody who knew them a whole lot better than he did even based on his discussions with Haibara from time to time. Eyeing her with the corner of his eye while they finished eating, he was uncertain what to think about her now, previously he had thought she was an ordinary girl with a crush; now things were entirely different and the awareness she had likely kissed him last night as an effort to distract him made him blush faintly in embarrassment as he considered her true intentions or whether she was even who she claimed given her intelligence.

The two finishing their breakfast within a few minutes of each other, Lyndsey having finished first, Rachel and Sonoko helped both children down from the chairs relieved the waiting was over. "9:42, I hope you're happy Conan, we should have been at the mall by now…" Rachel said with a soft sigh although decided it was not worth pursuing much to Lyndsey and Conan's delight. Sonoko bent down to fix Lyndsey's loose hair faintly while Conan and Rachel headed to the front door to begin putting on their shoes. "And I want you to tell me all about what you and Conan were up to later tonight, understood?" Sonoko teased a brief second after Rachel and Conan had left the room while she finished fixing Lyndsey's hair. The state of her hair proving she had gotten into at least a bit of trouble with Conan after going to the bathroom, if she had even been honest about that although knew it could not have been anything too bad since Conan despite all his irritating quirks was one of the most responsible children she had ever met, and Lyndsey quite similar.

Blinking in surprise she waited until Sonoko had finished fixing her age, since she figured it was pointless to concern herself about having somebody do her hair given her apparent age. "Alright…" she said quietly, knowing she did not have to tell the entire truth, or even hoping Sonoko might forget by the time they had finished shopping. Either way, she would not out right lie to the person who had shown her more kindness then she knew she deserved given the mystery of her existence in Japan even though she had been rather honest about her parents and everything but her first name. Departing from the dining room with Sonoko, they arrived at the front door to find Conan and Rachel all dressed up. Racing to where she had left her shoes she put them on carefully, fastening the laces tightly to ensure the larger shoes would not fall off while she was walking. Aware one of the first things she would have to purchase would be new shoes, in addition to something other then a girly dress to wear around the house since despite the fact she had been able to adapt to the flowing motions, she still felt beyond humiliated by dressing or acting like a girl.

The walk to the department store had been fairly short, although when they arrived, Conan was the first to notice the three empty police cars parked towards the front of the shopping mall. Nudging Lyndsey on her side faintly, he pointed to the cars and she nodded quietly while they followed Rachel and Sonoko into the shopping center. "How about we start with a fall coat and shoes…?" Sonoko offered and received a faint nod from Lyndsey while she followed along next to Conan unable to think of any better place to begin as they began riding the escalator up to the third floor. Although, as they stepped off, all four blinked with surprise as the Princess Designs store from last night was quarantined off with police tap surrounded by at least a dozen forensic investigators including Richard Moore and Inspector Miguire questioning the women who had been working last night when they had purchased the dress. Rachel raced over to her father to find out what happened, followed closely in toe by Conan and Lyndsey, leaving Sonoko standing there in confusion before chasing after her friend and the children to stop Lyndsey from getting into trouble.


	3. The Case of the Department Murder

Arriving next to Richard Moore and Inspector Miguire a moment later, Lyndsey paused a bit behind Conan to eavesdrop on the conversation between the two adults. Conan on the other hand was already surveying the situation for any potential clues. Miguire was still in the middle of briefing Richard on the case since he had arrived only a moment before the girls and Conan. "The deceased is Rebecca Robertson; the 9 year old daughter of this store's owner was reported dead at 9:15pm last night by the clerk Marie Marlow… And the estimated time of death was estimated at 8:45pm, and the cause of death appears to be a heart attack… The victim has been in and out of hospitals the last year for related problems so we can conclude that this was an unfortunate accident…" Inspector Miguire explained to Richard Moore who merely nodded in solemn agreement to the cause of death and the judgment regarding it being an accident.

Richard stroked his chin curiously while he looked around the store, noticing a few of the clothing racks had been toppled from an increased weight or conflict. "Did you check the security cameras?" he asked curiously while Miguire nodded her head a second later. "Yes, however the tape from last night was all black; security said it was likely due to the darkness of the corridor where the camera is kept… So from that we can surmise that nobody went to the changing or maintenance room from 6:00pm onward, as the lights were off since then after the manager came to check on everything…" Miguire explained before turning his attention back to the clerk with a sigh while Richard merely nodded his head. Both Conan and Lyndsey picking up on the time and the inaccuracy since she had certainly been to the changing rooms at around 7:30pm to try on her new dress and the lights had been on at that time but both remained silent for the time being since they wished to gather more information on the case and not interrupt the briefing.

Conan listened intently to the statements while he studied a couple of toppled clothing racks nearby to where the police outline of the body had been marked. Over by the counter, the clerk from last night who was presumed to be Marie Marlow was being questioned by police alongside an older gentleman who appeared to be the victim's father. "You see it too right Conan-kun?" Lyndsey said quietly while she studied the older gentleman's expression. Something was not quite right about this situation, and for the clerk to take nearly thirty minutes to call the police and an ambulance from the time of death was strange to say the very least. Conan nodded his head in agreement while he padded his head against one of the fallen clothes racks surprised to find that the clothes were still a bit damp from something earlier. "Ley Ley? I did not know it rained indoors too!" he said innocently with a loud enough voice to catch both Richard and the Inspector's attention while they were trying to finish up a case which they classified as an accident.

Scowling slightly at Conan Richard clenched his fist and swatted Conan on the back of his head in anger for the child's constant interruptions. "Quit interfering with the investigation!" he scolded although was cut short by Inspector Miguire raising a hand while she bent down to feel the damp clothing. "Now just wait a moment Moore, Conan is right…" he said standing back up again and turning to the owner of the store, "Do you have any leaks in the ceiling? It was raining quite bad last night…" he asked curiously wishing to rule out the damp clothing as a potential clue. The owner simply paused and looked a bit alarmed by the question, but soon regained his composure and shook her head confidently. "No, the roofs were just fixed last month…" he said with a slight pause. The clerk taking advantage of the silence to fill in more details, "Actually, the sprinkler system went off around 8:30pm, after those four left at 8:00pm, the fire department said that there was an error with the timer…" she explained nervously, still shocked from witnessing the child collapse last night from what had been apparently a heart attack caused by her severely weak body.

Walking over to the light pink dress the victim had been wearing which was covered in a police bag for preservation of evidence, Lyndsey bent down to examine the dress. Along the inner lining of the dress, under the light from the fluorescent bulbs above, where the traces of white pigment which appeared to be the result of a chemical reaction or bleaching effects. Additionally, on the hip waistband a piece of wire used to maintain the slightly extended form was protruding outward and cutting into the edges of the bag slightly due to the sharp edges. The edges of the dress still slightly damp from the sprinkler system, but it appeared the victim's body heat had dried up most of the water compared to the rest of the store clothing that was still visibly wet on close examination. Smiling softly she stood up and slipped her hands behind her back casually while she observed what everybody else was doing whether they would catch on to the trick that the murderer had used to make this all seem like an accident. Everything was rapidly falling into place now and she was only missing a few more pieces of evidence to pin the blame on her suspect. Her ears catching the end of the sprinkler conversation which merely caused her smile to widen while she looked around the store for an answer to her pressing questions; the one thing which remained still a mystery to her regarding the case since she had noticed one thing was strange last night.

Lyndsey nodded quietly to herself while she noted the sprinkler system had gone off fifteen minutes before the estimated time of death, which left nearly twelve hours for the clothes to dry. Wandering over to the desk with the till, the young child found it easy to slip behind the desk and avoid catching police attention while she studied the area for clues. A wastepaper basket with some wrapping paper, a card, and Marie's purse on the coffee table behind the desk the only suspicious articles. Sighing quietly Lyndsey walked out casually from behind the desk and paused with an innocent giggle while she noticed Conan lost in thought. A mild red tint crossing her cheeks when she realized she was staring, and she quickly looked off to the side with an all-knowing expression. She had a fairly good idea about what had happened here although she still lacked any evidence to pin the crime on her suspect. Walking over to Conan's side she tapped him lightly on the shoulder to get his attention, and giggled quietly when he turned around in mild alarm.

"Have you figured it out yet K-u-d-o – k-u-n?" she asked with a coy yet quiet tone of voice, turning her gaze back to the owner of the clothing store and the father of the victim. Inspector Miguire was already over by the older man trying to discern the cause of the sprinkler system and confirming the man's alibi regarding the time of death. "So you say you were at a bar thirty-minutes drive from here with three of old school friends Mr. Robertson?" the Inspector inquired and received a nod from the older man. "Yes, we arrived there at around 7pm and stayed until about 2am where we returned home in our own cars, although from 7-2am we were all at the bar, I can give you their names to confirm if you would like…?" the owner replied calmly and received a nod from the Inspector. "Yes please, Takagi-kun, please confirm that he was at the bar the entire time with those three… In the meantime, Miss Marie, you say that you were alone here from 8:00pm until you called the police at 9:15? That would have given you plenty of time to set off the sprinkler system maybe to hide a murder weapon…?" he asked with his typical clueless tone, and turned to Richard for confirmation since the detective was already behind the counter searching for clues.

One of the police investigators rushed over to the group, "Inspector sir! The autopsy revealed that the victim had a high level of tranquilizer chemicals found in her heart… The chemical was Antirosphon and typically is used in sedation for adult sleeping pills, although for a child it could be lethal…" the younger investigator from the lab proclaimed causing everybody to turn in alarm. "Then that would mean this has turned into a murder case, and the only one able to administer the poison would be the clerk, it could only be you then miss Marie!" Inspector Miguire proclaimed pointing a finger at the younger clerk who was in her early twenties. Marie's expression turned into a horrified paled look while she took a step back and slowly shook her head in denial, the owner at her side looking equally shocked. "N-No it was not me, I only invited her here tonight to get to know each other better before the wedding ceremony next week…" Marie confessed still in a state of shock while she turned to look to Mr. Robertson, her fiancé, for help.

Listening to her confession, Mr. Robertson appeared to grow increasingly angry, "Marie how could you? I know that Rebecca and you had a poor relationship but to go this far to stop her from opposing the wedding ceremony? How could you…?!" he said angrily turning to the younger women who looked more shocked than anything else by her fiancé's response. "I-It was not me…" she said nearly in tears while frantically looking at Inspector Miguire and Richard Moore for assistance but only received cold glares. Shaking his head in frustration, Richard Moore reached down to pick up her purse and then raised his eyes back to Marie for confirmation. "Do you mind if we search your purse ma'am?" he asked quietly and received only a shocked nod from the younger woman hoping to prove her innocence. Emptying the contents of the bag on the counter, everybody loomed over to check for anything suspicious. Conan trying to crawl up on the counter although was pulled back by Rachel who shook her head in disapproval.

Meanwhile, Sonoko had been searching for Lyndsey for nearly five minutes after the young child had disappeared suddenly when everyone had their attention drawn to the sudden new information. "Where could she have gone… Honestly, wandering around a murder scene, she is nearly as bad as the squirt!" Sonoko complained while lifting a few racks in hopes of finding the young girl hiding somewhere. Yet, unknown to everyone, Lyndsey had snuck into the changing stalls in the commotion to check something that had been bothering her since last night. Walking into the same stall she had used last night to change, and clothing the door behind her, she peered up at the camera pointed outward into the hallway. A smile lighting up on her face while she tugged down the black shirt she had thrown up there the night before, and rubbed her index finger over the sleeve to find a faint black residue. Crawling down from the changing bench, Lyndsey opened the door and cautiously peeked outside to ensure nobody was watching. Eying the closed door on the other end of the hallway labeled maintenance; she smiled quietly to herself and ran out into the main lobby only to have her arm caught by Sonoko who had a worried expression on her face.

"And where do you think that you are off to in such a hurry young lady…?" Sonoko asked placing both hands on her hips with an irritated expression. She was certainly not about to let Lyndsey get away with half as much as Rachel let Conan, since she did not want the child to get in any trouble. "Oh, umm I just wanted to tell Conan-kun something! I'll be good, I promise!" Lyndsey explained after a short pause, and feigned an absolutely innocent expression. Her posture convincing Sonoko who simply smirked quietly and nodded her head in agreement, "Oh I guess that is alright… Maybe you can keep the twerp out of trouble for once too…!" she teased and bent down to straighten Lyndsey's dress at the bottom slightly. Waiting patiently for Sonoko to finish, familiar with this treatment kind of by now, Lyndsey ran off to find Conan even though that had not been her initial intention. Spotting the boy examining the area around where the body markers had been placed, she smiled slightly curious how far the great high-school detective had come in his deduction. Everything was quickly falling into place now, and she knew exactly how to trap the criminal into admitting to the crime, she just needed one thing to finish off her own deduction.

Slipping her hands behind her back casually, she walked over to Conan and knelt down next to him with a proud smile plastered across her face. Her sudden arrival caused Conan to stumble backward in surprise and fall on his butt which he rubbed sorely in annoyance. "What was that for Lyndsey-chan…?" he asked still a bit suspicious of her since she clearly knew more than she was letting on, and she clearly knew his identity after only having been around him for over a day. Smiling brightly while she resisted the urge to giggle at his clumsiness, Lyndsey offered a hand to help him up to his feet. "So, I am sure the great and cute detective has solved this mystery already…?" she asked coyly once he was back on his feet, but in a voice low enough to avoid attracting any kind of attention. She could tell by now he was shy around girls, and if she had to live this way for the time being she figured she could have a bit of fun at the same time. It did not hurt anyone after all, and would help keep her identity a secret from those men in black who had done this to her in the first place. After all, school in America would be starting again in four months, and unless she wanted to re-experience elementary school again, but this time as a seven year old girl, she would have to find a cure for her condition by that time and teach those men in black a lesson.

Conan blinked in surprise while he refitted his fake glasses over his eyes, eyeing the girl suspiciously for the way she was acting. He blushed deeply when she called him a cute detective. ~Heh, first Ayumi then Haibara, and now Lyndsey? Girls are weird…~ he thought quietly to himself with an annoyed expression still oblivious to the fact that Lyndsey could be like himself and Haibara since Lyndsey acted so much like the other children it was hard to notice. "Well, not yet…" he confessed sheepishly, not about to admit what about the case had him stumped, at least not to another 'child' like Ayumi and the others. His response only delighted Lyndsey, as evident by her expression while she stood up and waved a finger in front of his face teasingly for a moment. "Looks like you are only number 2 detective in the world then Kudo-kun!" she said while placing a finger under her chin curiously. She knew who had committed the murder, why, and how but she was a bit stumped about how to convey her deduction to the Inspector without giving away her own identity as a high-school detective from American shrunken by some unknown black organization.

Listening to herself think the entire story over in her head, she had to admit it sounded silly to her even though she was experiencing it firsthand. She could only imagine how the adults would react even if she did tell them about her identity; probably just dismiss it as a childish prank in the best case scenario. An idea popped into her head suddenly while she studied the Inspector asking Marie to join him at the police station for further questioning. "Watch and learn cutie!" she teased Conan before running ahead leaving him slightly confused at first, and then widening his eyes and chasing after her to make sure she did not do anything disruptive or dangerous. Lyndsey ran right up to Inspector Miguire's side and lightly tugged at his pants to get his attention. "Um, Inspector sir? Maybe Miss Marie-san was not the only one here? It looks like they were having a birthday party after we left last night… See? There is even wrapping paper in the basket from a present her father gave to her…?" Lyndsey proclaimed innocently pointing to the wastepaper basket and the white and red heart-background wrapping paper and card signed in a messy handwriting.

Raising his eyes skeptically when the child pulled on his pant leg, he was going to dismiss her comments until he recalled articles in the paper and the new tag that had been on the dress the victim was wearing when she was found at about 9:30pm. "How could they have been having a party if Marie was alone…" Inspector Meguire began but soon trailed off as he began to put it all together. Turning to Mr. Roberson, the Inspector held up the card signed in the messy-handwriting. "Can you please tell us what was inside of your present sir?" Miguire asked with a serious tone. Although Mr. Robertson responded by raising both hands in the air defensively. "I have never seen that letter before in my life… Marie asked Rebecca here tonight I was told to get to her know her better, and Rebecca's birthday was not for two days…" he said with a defensive tone while he glanced down at Lyndsey with mild irritation for her bringing up the paper in the first place. Sonoko sighed quietly and bent down to pick Lyndsey up to keep her out of trouble, but was surprised when the child darted over to the counter and reached up for a lose piece of paper.

Catching Lyndsey before she could climb up on the counter, Lyndsey strained to reach for the piece of paper without any success. Her expression daunted while Sonoko held her firmly to prevent her from any running around or disturbing the police investigation. "Oops! Miss Marie-san must have just had a bad day when she wrote that then… See? Her other notes are written much more pretty! She even dots her I's with smiley faces…" Lyndsey said innocently pointing her hand to the piece of paper on the desk while Sonoko carried her away and placed her down on the ground next to Conan who grinned smugly. Richard Moore the first to pick up on the child's hint and raised a finger in the air proudly while he snatched the paper up off of the counter and compared the handwriting. "Kid's right, definitely not Marie's handwriting, and the writing on the card matches Mr. Robertson's signature on the wedding invitation… Still positive you have never seen that present before sir…?" Richard asked coyly to the owner who had an expression of fear on his face while he shook his head in denial to the apparently new acquisitions against him for the murder.

"Nope never seen it before…" the owner said calmly and regained his posture, although his previous fear had tipped both Inspector Miguire and Richard Moore off that something was strange. "Oh? Then how did your card get on the present yet you do not know what was inside…?" Richard asked smugly moving his face in closely to Mr. Robertson like a dog sniffing for any signs of fear. The awkward silence broken by Marie who was holding her hands nervously in front of herself while listening to the conversation. "The present was the white dress Rebecca was wearing when she…" Marie began but paused mid-way through when tears began running down her cheeks. She did not understand this situation, and Mr. Robertson's shear betrayal in trying to pin the blame on her confused her even further. "My fiancé, Mr. Robertson wrapped the present and gave it to me earlier this week for Rebecca saying she had been asking for that dress all year…" Marie said quietly which suddenly turned everyone's attention back to the owner since one of them was clearly lying at this point and the handwriting suggested that it was the owner.

Conan simply watched the integration in disbelief and then glanced back at Lyndsey wondering whether she had really noticed the differences in the handwriting. His disbelief only increased when she picked up one of the damp dresses nearby and held it up to the light innocently. "Hey Mr.… Why do none of these other dresses have that pretty white design like the one Rebecca was wearing, and why does it only show under the light…?" Lyndsey asked curiously while looking up at Mr. Robertson who stared back with a horrified expression. His expression only confirmed her belief that she had seen through his trick, and she would not forgive him for what he had done to his daughter. Sonoko sighed and waved both hands in front of herself shyly while she bent down to wrap her arms around Lyndsey tightly with a disapproving stare on her face before she looked back up at the Inspector. "Sorry, Lyndsey is just really interested in this stuff I guess… She is staying at my house for the time being while her parents are away; I'll keep her out of the way Inspector-sensei…" Sonoko explained clearly embarrassed by her ward's behavior. She did not think that it was fitting for a young lady to be interested in murder cases either but figured the twerp had rubbed off on her sweet new friend. After all, acting like this was more suited to Conan than a cute little girl.

Lyndsey grimaced slightly at the way she was being treated while her mind raced for a solution, only to catch the smug expression on Conan's face. Blushing slightly she looked away and raised her eyes back up to Sonoko sheepishly while she feigned a couple of tears wheeling up in her eyes. "S-Sorry Miss Sonoko-san… I just really thought that white pattern was pretty…" she said with an expression that looked like she was nearly on the verge of tears. Sonoko sighed and gave the child a hug to 'cheer' her up, which gave the room an awkward silence. Staring at the child in disbelief for a moment Conan nearly fell over in surprise when she began whining like an ordinary little girl. Turning his attention back to the case quickly he took careful notice of the dress wrapped in a police bag hanging over the table. ~Thanks a lot Lyndsey~ Conan thought to himself as he slipped away, darting for the nearby counter only to be caught on the collar by Richard Moore who handed him to Rachel with an indignant groan. "Shesh this is not any place for kids, keep an eye on him would you?" Richard complained as Rachel took hold of Conan in her arms equally embarrassed by the way he was behaving and giggled quietly while looking at Sonoko and Lyndsey.

Inspector Miguire on the other hand was examining the dress in the police bag for what Lyndsey had been referring to without any success. Sighing he lifted it up off the counter and held it up to the light, and nearly cried out in alarm when several white blotches appeared through the light pink colored fabric. "Takagi-kun, send this to the lab and find out what those spots are from…" he ordered as Takagi appeared at his side to confirm what the child had said. Miguire turned back to Mr. Robertson skeptically, "Unless you wish to tell us what they are right now sir? I am afraid this case is beginning to point more and more to you being the culprit… Does he have any motive to want to kill his daughter?" Miguire asked turning to Marie who was still in shock over this whole ordeal. "Well… Rebecca is not actually his daughter, she was adopted but recently real mother has been suing to have custody… Samuel (Mr. Robertson) would have lost a lot of money in a separation if he was found to be an unsuitable father… It's a shame that all of this had to occur so close to our wedding…" she said quietly, still refusing to admit that her fiancé could be the culprit or that he had framed her in some elaborate murder case to escape losing millions in a legal debate.

Listening carefully to the unfolding events, Lyndsey frantically looked around for a while to prove how the murder had occurred. Her antics catching Sonoko's eye and the high-school student put her face right next to Lyndsey's eyes intimidating, "And what are you looking for young lady…?" she asked in a tone which suggested little room for games. Lyndsey shrinking back slightly in mild surprise by the expression but she quickly thought of something and began to squirm slightly. "I need to go to the bathroom…" she said with a pleading tone of voice. Sonoko blinking in surprise and grinned, "Well then let's go, you and I" she said not willing to let the child out of her sight for another minute. Blushing at crimson red at Sonoko's rather unexpected response, Lyndsey frowned slightly recalling that the situation was likely not too awkward for the teenage girl at least even through it was rather humiliating for her right now. "Okay… But, there are not any cameras in the bathroom like the changing rooms right…?" she asked feigning nervousness while she looked up at Marie for an answer. Marie paused on the answer then smiled and shook her head, "No, there is only that one camera in the whole store, we use it for making sure people do not steal things based on what they bring into the changing rooms and leave with…" she explained thinking it was an odd question from the child but did not see any harm is disclosing the security system of the store.

"Hoy?" Richard Moore interrupted "If you know the layout of the security system then it would have been easy for you to have poisoned the girl… The culprit was you, I am certain of it!" he said with a declarative tone of voice while pointing his finger at Marie while Conan and Lyndsey both slapped there hand's to their head in near unison. "Inspector, I will now tell everyone how the murderer Marie committed this crime and hoped to frame her fiancé…" Richard began while leaning against the wall and placing his hand below his chin thoughtfully while he eyed the shocked clerk. "First, the culprit invited the victim here under the pretense of an early birthday celebration, and gave the victim a snack of something, perhaps a cake with the tranquilizer in it which the victim unknowingly ate… Then the culprit just had to wait until the poison took effect then flushed the remaining traces of the meal down the toilet, she knew there were not any cameras in there so she knew she could do this without being caught on film…" he said with a pause and a brilliant expression on his face like he was stating the obvious and solving the mystery.

Everyone in the room, excluding the suspects, Lyndsey, and Conan stared at Richard Moore with awe while he 'unraveled' the case and proved the story. "The culprit then hurried back to the scene of the crime, and placed her pre-paired wrapping paper and forged note in the garbage to place suspicion on her fiancé because he had threatened to cancel the wedding since the victim was highly opposed to the marriage, the note in her belongings proves this… And then after this she set off the fire alarm and called the police and an ambulance, placing her call at 9:00pm" he said with a pause while he walked across the room to pick up the note he was referring to in her belongings with a smile. "The reason we could not find any poison was because she flushed the contents down the toilet or sink, check the pipes and you will find the traces, and since she was the only one in the store which she admitted to then certainly she could have been the only one to poison the victim since the victim was fine when she came in and for half-an-hour afterward, the culprit could be you and you alone Miss Marlow!" Richard concluded only to receive a rather hard and loud slap across his face from the rather upset and shocked clerk who was being accused of murder.

Twitching her eye in irritation, Lyndsey simply could not endure this side-show investigation any longer than she had already. Bursting into a series of loud giggles after Richard had concluded, Lyndsey looked up and the Inspector and then Mr. Moore with an innocent expression. "Wow! Mr. Moore is a wonderful and great detective!" she praised causing Richard to smile proudly and make his classic hand under chin pose in an effort to please the child. "Too bad he is DEAD wrong… If she flushed everything down the toilet then the utensils and plates would have clogged the plumbing, and the camera in the changing stalls across from the bathroom that I accidently moved last night would have caught her going to the bathroom…" she said with a slight pause while Sonoko finally caught her and picked her up in the air with a disapproving look, not that she cared in the slightest. "Besides, the television said that when you eat things it takes longer for it to reach the heart so she couldn't have eaten the poison, right?!... Oh! I get it now… Mr. Moore was only playing a joke before proving that Mr. Robertson is the real bad guy! That's funny hehehe!" she giggled, feeling a bit sick to her stomach with the cutesy routine but figured it was a better option than trying to be the star of the show when this buffoon of a detective clearly did not have a single clue.

Nearly every single eye in the room shifted to the child who had just poked two holes right through the deduction of the famous sleeping Kougoro, even though he had not been sleeping at the time. "Lyndsey that's enough… Please let the Inspector and Mr. Moore handle this, I know you want to help but these things are not for kids, alright…?" Sonoko said quietly in an effort to hush the child squirming in her arms, she had zero idea what had come over Lyndsey all of a sudden, and figured the squirt was to blame for his rubbing off on her since she had been quite polite before this whole case. Raising her eyes up to Sonoko, Lyndsey nodded her head faintly before remembering something. "Okay… Besides, I am sure that a great detective like Mr. Moore already had figured out the poison was a powder on the inside of the dress which Mr. Robertson had given Miss Marlow… Hey! Maybe Mr. Robertson even decided to have the sprinklers go off to give all the clothes a bath or make a pretty design on the dress for his daughter…?" she said with her normal indoor voice, yet with an innocent curious tone, since she already had everyone's attention on her from the earlier outburst. "But… Since Rebecca had a cut on her side maybe Mr. Robertson wanted to use the sprinklers to wash out her cut? My mommy always said to make sure you wash out a cut with lots of water, and that wire on the inside of the dress is really sharp!" she said feigning complete innocence and grimaced slightly when she mentioned the sharp wire she had noticed when observing the dress.

Yawning sleepily once she had finished her questions, she snuggled in against Sonoko's arms to avoid any further lectures. Aware she would likely get in trouble later she simply did not care right now since she was not about to let a criminal escape thanks to a buffoon detective, and she also wanted to show-up Kudo-kun who was staring at her with a look of disbelief. ~Did that kid actually solve the case…?!~ Conan thought to himself quietly, although soon snapped out of it and shook her head while Inspector Miguire and the others turned to Mr. Robertson who had his hands raised in the air defensively. "Oh come on? You are going to believe a seven year old girl…?" Samuel Robertson said condescendingly, but the Inspector had other ideas while he recalled the water-like bleach stains on the dress that showed up under the light. "Maybe… But to be on the safe side I will have to have the dress checked at the lab for any poison, of course either one of you two could have put the poison on the dress then…" Miguire said thinking aloud with a suspicious tone while he eyed the owner, aware it was not wise to make rash acquisitions of a prominent businessman.

Rolling her eyes slightly while listened to the discussion turning back on circular arguments, she raised an eyebrow over Sonoko's shoulder while she saw Conan run behind the counter and aim his watch at Moore a second before the buffoon detective suddenly became drunk and collapsed. Everyone in the room rapidly turning their attention to Richard who had fallen into a sitting position propped up against the back of the counter with his head lowered like he was asleep. From her position in Sonoko's arms she could see Conan turned away from the others and examining his bow-tie a second before 'Richard Moore' began to speak a second time. "Not quite Inspector… The little girl was right, I was kidding before… The true culprit here is non-other than Mr. Samuel Robertson… And I am certain if you do an analysis of the dress lining you will find traces of oxidized moistened poison, that is to say the amounts not neutralized during the time that the sprinkler's were going off… Furthermore, since Mr. Robertson claims to have never seen the card or gift in the past, a simple finger-print analysis will tell otherwise, and as for motif he stood to avoid losing millions in the law-suit with the victim's real mother… Mr. Marlow being framed was merely an advantage since he planned to break up the wedding in the next few days anyways…" Richard spoke calmly before pausing a moment to let the fear register on Samuel's face for a couple of moments before he was interrupted.

"Your right! The present and card were from me, I gave them to Marie to let her become friends with my dear daughter, I have been really busy with work lately so I guess I forgot that I loaned them to Marie two or three days ago… But anybody could have done that trick with the sprinklers and poison, if you insist it was me than I demand to see your proof? I have powerful political allies, and have zero time for your false acquisitions…!" Samuel Robertson rebutted in a furious bout aimed directly to the 'sleeping' detective by his counter who was clearly indecisive in his dedications. A softer sound answered the question from the side of the counter where Sonoko was holding Lyndsey who had ceased squirming after being lectured for the second time. "Miss Sonoko-san, can I go to the bathroom? I would like to wash off this black paint from my fingers that I got when I was trying to fix the camera earlier so nobody would notice, someone painted everything black including the lens isn't that silly…?" Lyndsey said quietly while lifting up her index finger to show the black paint on the tip she had brushed off of the shirt.

Inspector Miguire turning his attention back to Lyndsey when he heard her strange comment about the camera being painted black recently. His memory recalling the footage he and the other police had tried to examine when they had first arrived but had only found a 'blank' video, although if the lens was blocked with paint that would also explain the lack of evidence. "Maybe somebody was playing hide-and-seek and did not want the camera showing the hiding spots…? I would hate to have someone watching me change, I would much rather everyone think that I had come in wearing that pretty new dress… Come to think of it though, the paint on the camera lens looks smudged so maybe whoever was playing the game decided that it was over and used their sleeve to clean off the paint…?" she asked quietly looking up at Sonoko who had an equally confused expression on her face. She had known the girl was smart but she was also full of these strange questions and was quite observant as well, a fact that only made Sonoko smile softly since she thought it was rather cute and did not see the harm in her quiet questions to the police investigation.

Unknown to the clueless heiress of the Financial Group, the little girl was full of far more than merely innocent questions, and her strange comments had directed everyone's attention back to Samuel. "Clever kid, Inspector, would you please check the inside cuff of Mr. Robertson's sleeve, I am certain that you will find the evidence you are looking for…" Richard Moore added causing Miguire to turn and reach out for the owner's sleeve only to have Samuel pull it away suddenly. "She had to die, I would have lost millions if her mother took her away, and that lady claimed to have pictures of my special dealings at city hall…" Samuel began while he glanced over at Lyndsey who was sitting in Sonoko's arms innocently glancing about the room like she had zero clue she had helped solve the case. "That women left me with no other choice…" the older man confessed and rolled up the side of his right sleeve to reveal the traces of black paint on the cuff from when he had slipped into the changing room to remedy what he had thought was only a minor advantage to framing his fiancé who he was positive had leaked the harmful pictures.

Sonoko listened to the entire confession with a blank look on her face, not understanding a single thing as officer Takaki placed the handcuffs around Samuel Robertson's wrists. Conan slipping out from behind the counter a moment later to stand beside Rachel, but he caught Lyndsey staring down at him and swallowed wondering exactly how much she knew about this whole situation. Lyndsey simply smiled softly and then looked up at Sonoko and yawned sleepily since she had not gotten much sleep the previous night, not to mention her early morning revelation. The sound of Lyndsey's stomach growling in hunger caused Sonoko, Rachel, and Conan to all look up at her and then begin laughing while Samuel Robertson was being taken away by the police but not before turning back one last time to stare at Lyndsey who reminded him so much of his deceased adopted daughter Rebecca who he now realized had deserved a better parent, even if the separation would have cost him millions in legal fees and child-support for the child's real mother.

Sighing quietly, Conan pulled his glasses off and casually cleaned them with his shirt, wishing that people would stop hiding behind excuses for inexcusable actions. Yet, while he thought on that subject he raised his eyes to look at Lyndsey with skepticism while she sat sleepily in Sonoko's arms. He intended to find out the entire story behind her one way or another, he had his suspicions about any normal child being able to see through that murder trick, and there was zero way he lost chess to a normal child. Besides, she had known about those men in black, and he wondered what her true motives were and whether she could be trusted so he figured he would proceed cautiously and tell Haibara the situation as soon as he could in a hope of gaining her insights on the situation. After all, if anybody would know more about this child who knew the existence of the syndicate than it would be Haibara, and he would not let this go easily. Although his thoughts were interrupted by Rachel tapping him on the shoulder to get his attention while Richard was slowly beginning to regain consciousness after being shot by the dart for all the good it had done.

"What do you say we all go have lunch at the food court, I hear that egg pourage stand is to die for and it's all the craze in the media…!" Rachel suggested with a smile to which Conan nodded his head in surprise, not truly interested but knowing better than to disagree by now. Lyndsey was casually watching Conan from her seat in Sonoko's arms, partially embarrassed by the situation but she did have to admit that being a child had its perks when not trying to solve cases. "Can we go with them Sonoko-san?" she said with a pause while she glanced back down at Conan with an innocent smile. "Ku… Conan-kun is really fun!" she praised trying to sound as adorable as possible while raising her hands in the air, feeling beyond humiliated for having to act this way but she knew better than to slip her identity of those men in black out there, and likely thinking that she was dead from that poison. A faint red blush on her cheeks since she had nearly called him Kudo-kun by accident, she hoped that the girls had not noticed. Richard Moore approaching from the side gave her the perfect opportunity to change the subject in response to Conan's glares while both Rachel and Sonoko merely smiled teasingly to each other and eyed Conan with sly smiles.

Rubbing the back of his neck sorely, Richard Moore yawned sleepily as he rejoined his daughter and suspiciously eyed Conan when the girls' broke out into laughter at Conan's expense. Lyndsey squirmed free from Sonoko's hold and leapt to the ground before running up to Richard's pant leg and staring up at him with an absolutely admiring gaze. "See! I knew Mr. Moore could solve the case! When I grow up I want to be just like you!" she praised before glancing over her shoulder to poke her tongue out at Conan who simply blinked in surprise since he knew who had really solved the case. Could it be possible that she had maybe figured that all out by chance? Conan looked puzzled. Sonoko equally surprised and shook her head with a sigh, "Young ladies should not be hanging out at crime scenes Lyndsey…" she said quietly under her breath hoping her new friend would not turn out like the twerp. Detective Moore on the other hand simply tossed his head back and laughed with his tongue sticking straight out, a laugh that kind of sent a chill down Lyndsey's spine while she glanced back at Conan who had an 'I told you so' look.

"Awe come on, can you blame the kid for wanting to be like the great detective Richard Moore? You know what kid? I kind of like you… If only he had half your common sense!" Richard gloated while he gave a rather cold look to Conan who was always being a nuisance at crime scenes. "Just remember that the most important thing about being a detective is to follow your instincts, not everyone can be as great as me!" he proclaimed before softly rustling her hair and throwing his head back in laughter. A sharp jab in the side from Rachel caused him to wince in pain only to turn and see her having both hands on her hips in anger, "Dad! Stop picking on Conan!" she said with a sigh and shook her head before placing a finger under her chin in thought. "Oh whatever… Let's all go get something to eat!" she said already able to imagine the fabled delicious bowl of soup while she took Conan's hand to make sure he did not run off anywhere. The other three merely looking at each other once and nodded either out of agreement, or in Richard's case the fear of upsetting his daughter further since his side still hurt from her jab a moment ago.

Lyndsey eyed Rachel taking Conan's hand and nearly giggled before she felt Sonoko take a hold of her own causing her to lower her head in embarrassment. She took it all back, being a child stunk, and she could not wait to get back her old body for more than one reason. The sound of her stomach growling a second time caused her to blush while she shook her head and looked up at Sonoko before trying to race toward Conan and Rachel with Sonoko in tow since they were holding hands. The shopping center was beginning to pick up in business by now, and the stores were rapidly filling with Saturday afternoon shoppers of all shapes and sizes. It promised to be an exciting day indeed, and Lyndsey had her own intentions for prying more information out of Conan during lunch. Unknown to everyone that two men sitting on the bench across the hallway in front of another story and reading newspapers had their eyes locked on the group. "Wait up Lyndsey…!" Sonoko called after the child when she felt her hand slip and the young girl ran on ahead to catch up with Conan and Rachel. Instantly clinging to Conan's free hand and resting her head against his shoulder. His clear embarrassment evident by a blush caused her to giggle quite innocently while everyone made their way to the store unaware of their two observers.

Richard off in one of his story-telling day dreams of the cases he supposedly had solved in an effort to impress his 'female fan' while Sonoko and Rachel teased each other about Conan having a new girlfriend based on how Lyndsey was clinging to his arm. Conan quietly muttering under his breath, "What do you want anyway…?" so that only Lyndsey could hear. Although her response was to simply cuddle his arm more affectionately while they made their way to the food court. After all, Conan or rather Sinichi Kudo was the person she had come to Japan to show up with a little detective contest. However, based on his slow performance on the department store murder case she felt she had nothing to worry about regarding defending her title as the best high-school detective in the world, even if it was under another name. Yet, for now she simply wished to gauge her rival and felt this was the best approach to keep him preoccupied enough to avoid any suspicions while she solved the case of the men in black. Too bad for her she was already underestimating his ability to see through her act, and the afternoon promised to be a whirlwind of revelations as both detectives tried to dig deeper into the other's past without the other catching on at all.

A/N: Hope everyone enjoyed the first mystery case in the series. Things might be starting to heat up soon, while Conan and Lyndsey learn they have more in common than merely being detectives. Next chapter is: Revelations and Encounters: Journey to the Mall! Which promises to be an action-filled chapter filled with intrigue, suspense, and the introduction of other cannon Case Closed characters.


	4. The Case of the Food Court Disastor

A/ N: I apologize for the long absence. I will be back for now and write more chapters for this fan-fiction. I finished watching all of the movies for some inspiration. On another note, a slight change from now on: I will be using all of the English versions of the character names. Sonoko = Serina Sebastian and Sinichi Kudo = Jimmy Kudo. With the housekeeping taken care of, I hope you enjoy reading the next installment which promises to be a new exciting case.

As midmorning turned into afternoon the mall population began to rapidly increase. It took nearly fifteen minutes for the band of Serina, Rachel, Detective Moore, Conan, and Lindsey to arrive at the fabled egg soup shack. A line of nearly fifty customers already waiting eagerly for the limited supply of afternoon specials caused the odd group of detectives and caretakers to groan aloud in dismay. "I guess we will have to find somewhere less famous, what do you kids feel like having for lunch?" Rachel asked bending down to stare at Conan and Lindsey warmly. She could not help but smile at how adorable the two children looked with Lindsey holding Conan's arm like his girlfriend.

"I will have whatever my Conan-kun would like!" Lindsey cheered with her other hand raised in the air. The cutesy routine, however, caused her to feel sick to her stomach. She could not BELIEVE anyone would ever act this weird on their own, nor did she understand WHY little girls acted so cute even when she was one of them now. Her quick response served only to make Conan turn a deep beat red. His hand instinctively squeezed Rachel's seeking to find a way out of the embarrassing situation. And then like an answer to prayer, the awkwardness was shattered at once.

Running out from the crowd, four other children darted toward the group. Three of them waved their hands while a fourth merely followed along with her hands folded behind her back. It was non-other than Amy, Mitch, George, and the complacent Haibara codenamed Ai. All four quickly closed the short distance before they appeared before the group with smug expressions. "Good morning, Conan-kun!" Amy greeted with a jealous stare that was directed toward the new girl who clung to Conan's arm. Who was this girl? How did she know Conan? Why so friendly?

"We heard the Pizza Rio had a huge prize giveaway so we decided to come check it out!" George added. "But it was only a contest for businessmen…" Mitch replied reluctantly followed by a sigh from all three combined. Meanwhile, the quiet Ai had reached the group and casually eyed Conan and Lindsey skeptically. She could tell Conan wanted to talk, or rather escape the strange girl. But that would wait. "You two are a cute couple…" she said mischievously to get under Conan's skin. The mortified expression on Conan's face merely caused her to smile inwardly in spite.

Unfortunately the comment sparked even more jealousy from Amy who put her hands on her hips. Her body leaned in closer until she was eye to eye with Lindsey enough to spook both the shrunken detectives. "Yes, who IS she? Is she a friend of yours Conan-kun?" Amy asked, the first part filled with jealous curiosity while the second part was a clear hope that the answer was a negative. The awkward stare caused Lindsey to instantly pull away from Conan to nervously put her hands behind her back. What? Did the Great Jimmy Kudo truly have an eight year old girlfriend?

"Nope we only met yesterday evening, my name is Lindsey Laru, and it is a pleasure to meet you all…" she said, paused, and then caught the glance from Serina. She knew what the older woman desired and so she performed a half-balanced courtesy in an effort to be polite. The effort rewarded with only a passing nod and shrug from Serina as she glanced around the food court rather selfishly. Serina's expression caused Rachel to laugh knowing her friend all too well. Although the children were all focused on Amy who did not like another rival for Conan's attention!

Although when Lindsey said she and Conan had only met recently she breathed a sigh of relief. The sigh was caught by Ai, Conan, and Lindsey which made the former two exchanged glances while Lindsey looked confused. Lindsey merely figured Conan was stringing the poor girl along. Who knew? Maybe Kudo was something into younger girls, the thought made Lindsey cringe slightly when she realized how she had been acting around him since they had met given her rather blatant female appearance. ~Oh, Eww! What if he?~ She thought to herself with another cringe.

Fortunately before Lindsey could venture off on a random tangent of thought, Conan intervened casually. "And this is Amy-chan, Mitch, George, and Haibara… But hey, what is in those bags you guys…?" he asked tilting his head a little in curiosity. His eyes drifting toward the small sport bag each of the children carried, and off to the side of his eyes he noticed Dr. Agasa finally appearing from admits the crowd. The doctor certainly did have trouble keeping up with the kids when they were excited. The question, however, made Amy blush enough to hide her face slightly.

"Oh, the four of us were going to go swimming after our lunch…" Mitch began but was interrupted by Amy, "You can come too if you would like Conan-kun! Um, Lindsey-chan can come too if she would like?" the young girl said in a high pitched nervous tone of voice. And naturally she would be nervous since she had recently got a brand new swimsuit so she hoped that Conan, her secret crush, would think she was cute. Amy noticed how Conan had always seemed fonder of Haibara and now Lindsey was clinging to his arm like they had been dating for a long time.

Hearing the invitation Conan blinked his eyes in surprise then waved his hands rapidly in the air to refuse. "Well we do not have any swimsuits of our own, so…" he said on the verge of turning the children down. He wanted to learn more about Lindsey and how she had picked up his secret so rapidly, or what she planned to do with that knowledge now that she had learned the truth. But Rachel cut him short. "Oh, we can simply go to the store quick to pick out a swimsuit for us all, dad keeps saying I should get some new clothes so he can pay…!" Rachel teased her father.

Richard nearly choked at the mention of him paying for something other than alcohol. "I do not know…" he said in a casual voice. His eyes frantically glanced about for an opening to escape. Although Rachel held the bottom of his shirt to prevent him for running away, honestly he could be so difficult. The kids merely looked from Rachel over to her father and back to Rachel seeking a resolution. Mitch also glanced slightly toward Lindsey but rapidly flustered and turned around with his arms folded. The sight instantly caught the attention of Lindsey, Conan, and Haibara.

"Oh come on dad, you have lots of money after that case you solved last week…!" Rachel protested, referring to the high profile kidnapping case that Richard had solved last week for a wealthy businessman. Little did she or Conan know he had already spent the entire $3000.00 on alcohol and cigars? But rather than letting the two catch on to that minor factor, Richard replied with a disgruntled "Fine…" as he opened his wallet to pull out the last of the bills he had saved with a saddened expression. His expression told everything but Rachel and Conan would not complain.

Dr. Agasa interjected at this point. "Wonderful than we shall stop at the clothes store quickly, but first!" he said with baited anticipation. "Mall Quiz Time!" he said rising one of his finger that nearly made the five regular children fall over with lame expressions. "Three young adults decided they would visit the local aquatic park. The first adult was named Lache, the second Riche, and the third Niche, who will visit the waterslides first?" the old man asked proudly as he noticed the confused expression from the six children. The only one to know it instantly was Conan Edogawa.

"Would you care to venture a guess Lindsey?" he asked wishing to involve the new girl in their activities. His direct question, however, startled the young girl who still had not figured out the answer. "I do not know…" she said shyly while choosing to omit a snide comment about the stupid game. Agasa merely shook his head and then turned to the other five for an answer. Amy was the first to answer "Lache will be the first to visit the waterslide" she proclaimed only to receive a "Why" from Agasa. The question made the young girl think before she shrugged her shoulders.

Conan intervened to answer the question. "Amy-chan is right; Lache will be the first to visit the waterslide. All three named differ only in the 'La' 'Ri' 'Ni' so if you convert those into Kanji. It produces Me, Su, Le, and since Lache is the Kanji for Me the answer is Lache will go first…" he said with an expression that suggested it was another of the professor's pathetic wordplay games. His ease of solving the question made Lindsey blink her eyes momentarily but just as quickly she folded her arms and turned slightly with a "Humph!" sound since she disliked being defeated.

"I am certain you will guess the next one, Lindsey-chan… But you…" Agasa began but was silenced by a quite loud scream from the end of the hallway. A crowd of people rushed to see what had happened, but Lindsey and Conan were among the first to arrive by weaving between the crowded legs. On the ground in the center of the food court a man lay on the flood with his body contorted like he had been in pain, a woman standing overhead frightened. It had only taken Conan a second to rush to the man's side to check his pulse before he closed his eyes with a silent sigh.

Richard Moore pushed his way through the crowd to rush to the man's side. His hand swatted Conan out of the way only to confirm what the young detective had already realized. "He is dead…" Richard said aloud which caused the entire crowd to grasp in alarm as Richard stood up proudly. "This area is a now a crime scene, Rachel call the police for me!" he said but was rudely interrupted by one of the crowd. "And who are you?" a middle-aged man said as he casually examined the corpse. His expression signaled to Conan and Lindsey that something was definitely amiss.

"I am the world famous detective Richard Moore!" he said proudly with his head thrown back in creepy laughter as the crowd began to awe and converse among themselves. The expression on the man's face paled but he regained a sense of composure and shrugged his shoulders before he slipped back midway into the crowd. On the ground by the deceased man was a broken plate, a tray of fries lying scattered off to the side, and a spilled coke running down the edge of the table. The woman who had screamed stumbled backward with her hands over her mouth still in shock.

Lindsey and Conan butted heads as they crawled under the table from opposite sides to examine a small piece of odd white plastic protruding from the splattered ketchup. "Oomph!" both Conan and Lindsey said in unison only to trip backwards and rub their heads where they had collided. Unfortunately for Conan he had been knocked into a splatter of fries that made Richard instantly pick him up by the collar of his neck and toss him toward Rachel rudely. "Keep your nose out of my crime scene, squirt!" he said with a flick of his hand as he bent down to examine the scenes.

Off to the side Amy whispered to the other three she had come with earlier, "This looks like a job for the junior detective boys!" he said which received a nod of agreement from Mitchell and George who agreed. But before they could dash off to investigate Conan intervened in his classic meddlesome nature. "And where do you three think you are going? Stay with Dr. Agasa please, I want to check something!" he said before running off into the crowd. All three of the children merely sighed with an 'awe we want to help too' sort of expression that caught Lindsey's eyes.

"Do you three want to help?" Lindsey whispered to the kids who beamed at her suggestion. "Wonderful!" she said as she slipped in closer to the other children to pull them into a huddle. She proceeded to whisper a set of directions with her hypothesis to the children who grinned at each other before they rushed off into the crowd. Lindsey slipped over to the corpse, careful to stand behind Richard who was using a flashlight on the victim's eyes to notice the eyes were extremely dilated due to the effects of some sort of toxin. He then used a finger to sniff the scent of ketchup.

Richard blinked his eyes in surprise at the odd scent. "He has been poisoned!" he proclaimed right at Maguire had begun to push his way through the crowd. His eyes drifted toward Richard with a look that questioned how Richard always arrived on the scene of murders. "What happened here Moore?" he asked in a hurry as he motioned to other officers to control the crowded scene and begin taking witness statements from the observers. Richard proudly gave a grin as he stood up with one of his hands placed behind his chin. Lindsey tilted her head curiously at his posture.

"This man has been poisoned, but never fear the Great Richard Moore has already solved this murder!" he said in a loud voice to catch the attention of onlookers. His body spun to the woman who had screamed. "This woman is the wife of the victim, so naturally he trusted her when she brought him the food laced with lethal cyanide…" he said only to nearly stumble backward in surprise from the woman's outburst. "How dare you accuse me of murder with such an outlandish claim! We were business partners meeting about a new deal, I hardly even knew him!" she said.

Maguire stood off to the side listening to every word carefully. "Could you please state your name and relationship to the deceased for the record then, ma'am?" he said pulling a notepad out of his pocket for records. "Certainly my name is Marina Ashwell and I am the manager of the aquatic park here at the mall, Mr. Raltzer and I were meeting to discuss adding a line of his swimwear accessories to our store…" she explained but she was interrupted. "What do you mean by accessories?" Richard asked curiously only to receive a bitter glare from the woman he accused.

"Inflatable objects, goggles, and other essentials for use in our pool but actually I was here to explain we decided not to endorse his merchandize. We have had a couple of complaints about some of the plastics being soluble in our pool water due to all of the chlorine in our aquatic park…" she explained before glaring at Richard once more who responded by meekly slipping away to examine the food table a second time. Lindsey followed behind with both of her hands slipped behind her back curiously. She believed that Ashwell was innocent but that left who was guilty.

Recalling the gentleman from earlier she placed one hand under her chin thoughtfully. "Ms. Do you know who that grumpy Mr. was earlier? He seemed surprised to hear Mr. Moore the Great Detective was on the case?" she asked in an innocent tone to draw the attention to the nervous gentleman who was mingled into the crowd. Her question had the desired effect of making Richard shift his attention away from the table to the man whom he approached. "Yes, exactly what is your relationship to the deceased or Ms. Ashwell sir?" he asked the man with a baited expectation.

"Care to answer the question?" Maguire asked standing beside Richard to force a response from the man who took a single look at the corpse before he looked away like he had noticed something amiss. "Name is Max Prowl and I run the supply chain that currently provides the aquatic center with accessories, I heard that Marina was considering the change so I came to find out for myself" he said with a pause. "But as you can see that is no longer necessary…" he said with a smug expression. "That creep Raltzer got what he deserved; he scammed people into buying garbage!"

Lindsey merely smiled inwardly as Prowl explained his case. A faint odor of almonds clung to his lower left pant leg which told her precisely what she needed to know. She had the murderer and how they had done the murder, but she did not have any evidence. Her eyes drifted over to Conan who had returned and was examining under the table to the spot where they had noticed the white plastic earlier. It was at that moment that Amy, Mitch, and George came running back through the crowd. Amy held something in her hands which she handed to Lindsey with a proud nod.

Conan noticed the three rush over to Lindsey which made him tilt his head in confusion. From the corner of his eyes he noticed the faint wetness of Mr. Prowl's lower left pant leg. And he had the answer to the entire crime. But before he could find a suitable location to hide as he used Richard in his typical fashion, Lindsey tugged on Mr. Moore's own pants curiously. Her action caused Serina to rush over to hold the child back from being a burden to the entire crime investigation like the last time. Serina shook her head slightly but by that time Richard had looked down.

"Mr. Detective! Why would someone put plastic in their food before eating it? Doing that would make the food taste awful I thought, and so it seems pretty silly I think…?" she asked curiously with her hands behind her back. A single hand gestured under the table where the plastic protruded from the ketchup partially dissolved. She said feigning an innocence that instantly drew Richard and Maguire's attention to the area she had pointed to with a finger. Both of them instantly rushed to confirm the location of the plastic that resembled a small capsule melted near the ketchup.

Maguire pulled the piece of plastic free only to have half fall apart mid-air and land back inside the ketchup. The bit of plastic instantly dissolved into nothingness before both detectives eyes. "It looks like we have our murder weapon then Richard but prints will be impossible it looks like…" Maguire said grimly in a groan which caused Lindsey to glance up at Serina with another curious expression. Her expression taken off of Amy and the others who looked at their friend Conan standing off to the side half off balance wondering what the new girl was up to with her games.

"I am bored, could we please play hide-n-seek like Mr. Prowl and Ms. Ashwell was playing a couple minutes ago?" she said inquisitively. The odd question gained the attention of Serina, Maguire, and Richard. "Well I mean he ran away pretty quick after she screamed, but then he returned… Maybe he had to go to the bathroom…?" she asked in a curious manner. Both of her hands were slipped behind her back adorably as she swayed slightly. However, both the detectives Maguire and Richard were rather curious to hear where precisely the other gentlemen went so fast.

Prowl flinched slightly at the attention shifting toward himself once again. "Yah… Yah, I had to go to the bathroom pretty badly, my cute young detective…" he praise vainly in an effort to get the young girl off of his case. But with his answer he had sealed his fate. "Liar!" Amy shouted from the sidelines. "We saw you leaving the pool area before you returned to the scene of the crime" George added as Mitchell held up a clear plastic bag containing several clear plastic capsules which they had found in the trash can shortly after Mr. Prowl had left the pool area to return.

"Oh… Right… I decided to use the bathroom at the pool so I could check the supply of my accessories…" he added with a casual flick of his head up to the side. His eyes drifted toward the bag as fear covered his entire face. "What is in the bag kids?" he asked vainly curious. The question made the three children blink in confusion. "What do you mean?" Amy asked with confusion. "We saw you drop this while you were in the pool before you came back here, I did not see you use the bathroom?" Mitch added as he glanced toward the other two for an affirmative confirmation.

Amy approached to hand the bag back to Mr. Prowl whom Lindsey had asked to follow earlier with the huddle. But as she got within arm's reach, the middle-aged man grabbed her around the throat and lifted her into the air. A flash of silver appeared from his jacket sleeve an instant before he held a knife below her thin threateningly. The posture instantly sent panic down everybody's spines as they backed away carefully. Maguire and Richard prepared to strike the knife-holder to the floor but where stopped as he pressed the knife slightly to draw a faint trace of Amy's blood.

"That creep swindled my company out of two-point-five million in fraudulent products; we were going to be ruined if we lost the contract with the aquatic theme park… I put my lifetime into building my company and I would not let some lowlife conartist get away scot-free, he had to pay!" the middle-aged man holding Amy and the knife said with bold confidence. All of the while he slowly backed up toward the crowd that parted to provide an escape route. In toe Amy attempted to free herself were futile, Richard and Maguire unable to approach without endangering Amy.

Max Prowl backed through the crowd until he touched something that forced his attention to his rear. As he turned around, however, a swift kick to the lower right ankle caused him to wince in pain. He instinctively dropped Amy in the confusion, and Amy darted to safety. Standing less than a foot in front of Mr. Prowl was Lindsey who had both her hands folded with a loathing expression on her face. "Little whore!" he screamed as he lunged with his blade at the young girl who had inadvertently brought him into center stage and forced a confession with her odd questions.

Lindsey responded to his lunge by ducking forward. Her right hand slapped upward beneath the hand holding onto the knife to make it drop to the ground. His wrist sprang backward to the point of breaking due to her application of pressure at the proper points. All the while her left hand took firm grasp of his lunging arm. And then in a swift fluent motion she used her back to roll him into a forward summersault. His body hurtled over her back until he fell on a food court table that collapsed under his weight. A team of police leapt on top of him to restrain his movement.

Serina and Conan rushed to Lindsey instantly to check where she was harmed. Serina checked her over rapidly with both eyes before she put her hands on Lindsey's shoulders firmly. "Lindsey! Don't you ever do something like that again, you could have been killed!" she said clearly worried about the young girl whom she had begun to consider a younger sister in the short time that they had known each other. Conan also examined her body swiftly for any signs of cuts but when he realized she had been untouched; he blinked he eyes wondering exactly who this girl was really.

"I promise, but I could not let him hurt Amy-chan either…" Lindsey said quietly under her breath. She was relieved nobody had been hurt, beyond the lowlife who was being taken away by the police. When she had been in America before she had been shrunk, her parents had given her a series of courses in martial arts. Although the maneuver had put a little more strain on her body than normal. One of her hands lightly held her other arm in an innocent posture to hide the severe pain she had suffered from overextending her smaller body with the enormous weight differential.

Conan noticed her holding her other arm but he remained silent for the moment. He was certain she was not any old ordinary elementary student due to the skill such a maneuver would have required with her smaller size. Haibara had joined Conan at his side while Mitch and George comforted a distraught Amy who shyly looked at Lindsey a little embarrassed with the way she had treated the other girl when they had first met. Amy knew she would have to make it up to Lindsey for Lindsey saving her life. But she felt she had even less of a hope of competing for Conan if this new girl was smart, brave, and willing to protect others exactly like Conan which was what she admired about him.

From the side Ms. Ashwell approached Serina, Conan, and Lindsey thoughtfully. "My, My, That was really brave of you to stand up for your friend like that Lindsey-san… How about I give you something to say thank you for helping sort out that nasty old situation?" she asked warmly reaching into her purse to produce ten V.I.P. passes to the water park that covered the entire west wing of the shopping center. "With these you all can relax for the rest of the day in our spas, pools, or anywhere else you would like to go…" she offered as she handed the passes to a surprised Serina.

All around the small group of four a crowd had gathered to catch a glimpse at the young heroine of the day. One of the members of the press snapped a photograph for the front page of the paper before Rachel shooed him away and moved beside Conan and Serina with a sigh down at Lindsey for her heroism. Lindsey had sort of reminded Rachel of herself for doing such a brash thing. Although, she did wonder where a girl that age had learned to perform stuff that she herself had only learned a year or two ago. The young lady certainly was surrounded by strange mysteries.

"Thank you, I think we will take you up on that offer…" Serina said accepting the passes, but clearly still concerned about Lindsey. She never wanted the young girl to do anything so reckless again. Not only was such behavior not all that befitting for a young lady, she had seen firsthand the dangers it could cause from experiences with Rachel. "But first I suppose we will have to get the four of us something to wear, and Uncle Moore-sama can pay for allowing a cute seven year old kid to save Amy from that bad guy…" she said with a mischievous twinkle in her carefree eyes.

Richard pulled back with a grimaced groan as Serina mentioned the money again. But he figured it was not worth an argument as he glanced down at Lindsey with a thoughtful look. "Kid chooses good role-models!" he said throwing his head back to laugh recalling her earlier comment about wanting to be just like himself. And with that the five of them were off to the clothing store with Agasa and the other four children following behind. All along the way the three other members of the junior detective boys casually talked among themselves deciding to add a sixth member.

Upon arriving at the aquatic theme park Serina presented the ten passes to the attendant. From there everyone went to the small clothing store located inside the park where Rachel, Conan, Lindsey, Serina, and Richard went off to get a pair of swimming clothes for themselves. Richard and Serina ecstatic when they discovered the VIP passes gave a free ticket to all the food, snacks, or accessories they desired during the day. Rachel on the other hand was occupied with locating herself and Conan something to wear. For Conan it was easy as he grabbed a pair of suitable trunks.

Lindsey on the other hand grimaced as she held her hands behind her back and glanced down the aisles of swimwear that looked quite displeasing. Although before she could even begin to look for something that would appear modest or less embarrassing, Serina poked her head out from behind the clothing rack. Over her arm were draped a red and white floral bikini with tropical style skirt for herself. She also had a cute solid pink one-piece with small red hearts etched into a pattern across the swimsuit with she held up to the flustered young girl who looked away rather shyly.

"How about we go with these, L-I-N-D-S-E-Y-chan?" she said with an excited tone of voice. Her eyes dazzled with how she imagined she would look in the lovely bikini which she hoped would get the attention of a cute guy. And before Lindsey could even reply, she casually tossed the one-piece at Lindsey and took the child's hand to lead her to the changing rooms. Lindsey hesitated as she attempted to squirm her tiny wrist free from Serina as they began to enter the women's changing rooms to the right of the clothing store. But Serina was oblivious as she marched inside.

Meanwhile inside of the store, Rachel pulled a modest solid white one-piece with straps off one of the aisles as she held it up teasingly. "What do you think Conan-kun?" she said modeling it teasingly to get the opinion of her young little detective. But Conan only answered with a quick "It looks good…" as he lowered his head. Haibara off to the side giggled as she noticed the faint blush on the tip of Conan-kun's ears as he answered. And that simply response was enough for Rachel as she glanced down toward Amy and Haibara who had been standing next to Conan-kun.

"I am glad you approve!" she teased before bending down to take Amy and Haibara's hands in her own. "We will meet you boys inside the pool area then," she said as she headed inside the changing room with the girls. Amy had a faint red blush that caught Haibara's attention as they entered the large open room. "What is it?" Haibara asked in a low voice as they reached the benches where they could change. "I hope Conan-kun likes my new swimsuit…" Amy said nervously as she twiddled her fingers together which made Haibara laugh slightly at her rather odd comment.

Haibara grinned darkly as she replied casually, "I wonder, if our Holmes like anything other than mysteries…" said the young girl with a teasing smirk. Her comment clearly directed toward Conan-kun's one track mind whenever it came to a mystery. Amy however shook her head. "You should not be so mean to Conan-kun…" she replied with a hurt tone of voice as they arrived at the benches where Serina was already changing into her bikini next to Lindsey who had yet to move a muscle. Serina was doing random sexy poses in her bikini that made Rachel giggle slightly.

Lindsey's face was absolutely beat red as she stared at the wall to avoid seeing any of the other women change into their swimsuits. Amy and Haibara only glanced at her casually as they too began to change alongside Rachel at least until Serina glanced down at her adoptive sister long enough to stop at modeling. "Why are you not changing their kiddo?" Serina asked teasingly as she bent down to turn the child around. Her expression puzzled as she noticed the deep red hint on Lindsey's face which Serina assumed was merely her shyness about changing into the swimsuit.

"Little ladies should not keep their cute boyfriends waiting!" Serina teased as she moved to tug the dress overtop of the young child's head to help her change. But she paused when Amy suddenly shouted "He's not her boyfriend!" she said before she shrunk back embarrassed by the attention she had drawn. "I mean… You two are not girlfriend and boyfriend, are you?" she asked shyly which made Lindsey look confused at first but then smile once she fully understood the situation between the other young girl and the elementary school detective with a secret like her own.

"Why would I be interested in that four-eyed squirt? You can have him if you want… Yesh!" she said casually slipping both her hands behind her neck like it had been apparent. In doing so, however, she caught a glance of Haibara changing off to their side which made her entire face turn red as she looked away shyly. Serina and Rachel both exchanged confused glanced before Serina shook her head down at Lindsey with her hands on her hips. It was like Lindsey had a crush and then it vanished. Of course, Serina thought Lindsey had good taste for disliking the odd detective runt who had gotten under Serina's skin on more than one occasion. She was way cuter than the other brat.

Serina took the opportunity to slip the dress entirely off of Lindsey's head. Her hand casually tossed it into the large locker that she and Rachel had used for their clothes. And it was in that moment that Lindsey did the first thing that came to mind to escape that extremely embarrassing situation. She put one hand to her forehead and pretended she had fainted right there on the bench. All four of the other girls simply stared down at her in surprise and confusion as she was slipped into the one-piece by Serina who simply gave her a light slap on the cheek once she was all dressed.

"Owe!" Lindsey said snapping her eyes open to the feel of the light slap. Her eyes fixating upon Serina who had her hands on her hips with a disapproving look on her face. "Kiddo you think I have not tried that stunt before?" asked the pre-Madonna as she took one of Lindsey's hands to help her to her feet. By this point Rachel, Amy, and Haibara were all changed but Haibara had taken particular interest in the strange behavior of the other girl. It did not take any genius to know who had really solved the case in the food court not to mention her strange behavior since they had entered the changing room. Honestly it was as though the other girl had never before been in a room full of ladies.

Lindsey lowered her head sheepishly to avoid seeing any of the other women as she hopped to her feet. "Whatever could we go now, please?" she asked as she ran on ahead into the towers which only made Serina sigh before all the others followed after the heroine of the day. Inside the other section of the changing rooms, between the open area and the exit to the pool, Lindsey was already beneath one of the showers. She had been forced to jump a little to turn on the spray of warm water but being short was nothing compared to the embarrassment she had suffered a couple of moments ago. Now she definitely could not tell anyone her secret for fear of an endless laughter from the boys.

As the others joined Lindsey in the showers, however, she casually glanced down at the swimsuit that covered all of her body from the next to her waist. It did look flattering on her adorable feminine physique. Although she felt quite shy about having her legs so visible to strangers. She even held her legs together in an effort to hide the clear sign of her newfound girlhood which continued to be a source of humiliation to the former boy. And the idea of Ayumi-san being jealous of her over Conan was slightly unsettling since she had zero intentions with Conan beyond her proving who was the best high school detective in the entire world. In her mind they were currently tied at once case each.

And once the showers were finished the girls exited the changing rooms to find Conan, Mitch, and George awaiting the girls while Richard and Agasa were already in the luxurious spa. "You three look good…" Conan said with only a casual glance as he put his hands behind his head. Ayumi and Lindsey both blushed slightly while Haibara grinned between the other two girls knowing Kudo-kun was merely being polite. It was simply the way boys and girls were at times. Boys said the girls looked lovely even if they did not and the girls expected to here only positive comments from the boys that they liked secretly. Haibara was tempted to tease Kudo further but she decided against it for now.

From the lobby area of the pool the five girls and three boys could see the entire enormous theme park. On the far western wall were a series of diving boards with variations in height and a diving tank. On the eastern wall were the slides including the famed waterslide that extended into the ceiling which was said to take several minutes? Lastly along the northern wall were the sauna, hot tubs, and luxurious spa where visitors could obtain their snacks. In all it looked sort of fun even to Conan and Lindsey who glanced around curiously while Haibara merely decided to sit in the chairs at the cafeteria to watch the others. The idea of splashing about did not suit her darkened sense of fun.


End file.
